and I will shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all the nations,
and the treasures of all the nations will come in,
And I will fill this house with glory,
says the LORD of hosts.
These words are familiar to music lovers. Rather late in Handel's Messiah the baritone rises to sing the prophetic words of Haggai, "I will shake..." The short, quick notes suggest the tremors of an earthquake. They foretell the day when the Church will be recognized as the House of God and the whole Earth will honor the Trinity who makes their home in us.
The passage might also remind us of the Jesuit motto, "ad majorem dei gloriam." (... to the greater glory of God")
In context of the Prophet's book, they are words of reassurance. The returning exiles have sacrificed much to build a temple for the Lord but this new structure cannot hold a candle to the edifice built when Solomon reigned and Jerusalem deferred to neither Egyptian, Assyrian, nor Babylonian empires. "Never mind," says the Prophet, "the LORD will make up the rest."
And that must be continual assurance for us. "The effort is ours; the results are God's." Or, as Saint Paul put it to his struggling disciples in Corinth:
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Our justification comes from the Lord, as do the results of our labor. We plant and others reap. We build and others live in the home. Even Solomon's marvelous temple was built mostly upon his father David's amassing the timber, stone, silver, gold, and money to erect the edifice. King David had not even laid the foundation before he died.
If we're working to suit ourselves, for the satisfaction of doing good work and being both thanked and appreciated for it, we're squandering the wealth the LORD gave us. We should do what we can and then stand back to watch the Glory of God appear.
I should not be the protagonist in the story of my life.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.