PASTOR'S PEN

by Rev. Bill Wood

I am with you, says the Lord of hosts,
according to the promise that I made you
when you came out of Egypt.
My spirit abides among you; do not fear.
[Haggai 2:4-5]

We live in perilous times.
 Jobs are scarce. Governments are broke. The stock market swings wildly. Inflation looms. Terrorism lurks. There are good reasons to fear.
 It’s nothing new.
 During the time of the prophet Haggai, the people of Israel faced their own set of perils. It was 520 B.C.E. The people had come home to their promised land and found it in ruins. Their beloved temple had long ago come a-tumbalin’ down. They had been sent into dispersion into pagan lands, their own land occupied by their worst enemies. They had endured drought, famine, poverty, inflation. They came home, with plenty left to fear.
 But instead of fear, the God’s prophet, Haggai, proclaimed hope.
 He spoke of God’s promise, from which God never turns, a promise of rescue from want. He spoke of God’s presence in their midst, a presence that bound them together as a people and set them free. He reminded them that God’s spirit abides among the people—a living presence that frees them from fear.
 These are pretty good marching orders for us as a church today. Haggai was speaking not to individuals but to God’s people. Individually, we can easily slip into fear and even despair. But together, with God in our midst, we can find a new reservoir of hope. That hope is personal in Jesus Christ; we are the church of Jesus Christ. His living Spirit abides in us today; the Spirit of the living Christ accompanies us on our journey here and now.
 On the Day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter reminded the people what God had done in “the glory days” of King David:

I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand
so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad,
and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover my flesh will live in hope.
[Acts 2:25-26]

 So what’s it going to be? Fear? Or hope?
 I’ll take the latter, because it has been freely given to us all in Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Grace and peace,