Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, UCC

Sermon preached by Rev. Emily Tanis-Likkel

August 14, 2011

Shalom-Building

The Hebrew people returned to Jerusalem after generations of exile and felt defeated. They returned to rubble. As they began rebuilding their homes, they quickly became discouraged by the drought and devastation that surrounded them. But Haggai prophesied to them: Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for 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.  In his 4 month prophecy, Haggai encouraged the Hebrews to keep on going, to keep on working together toward shalom. Shalom is not simply prosperity, as the NRSV translates it, but wholeness, peace, well-being, security, restoration. It is a deep and abiding wellness that is not about individuals, but communities. In Haggai's time rebuilding the temple was a part of God's plan for bringing 'shalom'.  

The people made excuses: we have to work on our own homes. God asked the people to re-build the temple to shift their focus off of themselves. The temple was the community center. It was a visual reminder of the presence of God. The people seemed apathetic. But were they or were there simply obstacles in their way that needed clearing out? Perhaps they were not apathetic but deeply discouraged. In addressing the need for people to work creatively together for social change, Canadian Dave Meslin called for the need to “Redefine apathy not as an internal syndrome, but as a complex web of cultural barriers that reinforces disengagement. If we can clearly identify the obstacles and work together to dismantle those obstacles, then anything is possible.” When factors leading to discouragement are unravelled, then the building, the creative work can begin.

Alan Roxburgh tells this story in his book Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood: There are three friends who grew up together. They had very different personalities but they had a tight bond that was unmistakable. During college they continued to enjoy each others company, sharing their hearts and having deep intellectual conversations. After college they grew apart due to the circumstances of life, taking a job, family concerns.

One day two of the friends received an e-mail from the third and it was an invitation for the three friends to get back together again for a long weekend to reconnect. When they all got back together it was obvious that something had changed. The two friends who had been invited noticed that their host friend seemed obsessed with himself. “The host began doing all the talking, and it was all about himself. Each time the friends spoke, the host cut them off and turned the conversation back to his life, his questions, and his needs. He asked lots of questions to elicit information that would further focus on his own interests and plans. He minded them for information that could make him look better. He seemed preoccupied with how to become more successful.”^[1]  You’ve all had the experience of sharing a meal with people and one person doing almost all of the talking. In this parable, the two are Scripture and Culture and the talkative one is the church. The church focuses on itself instead of listening deeply to the story of Scripture, instead of listening intently to culture. Wellness is not for the church in itself, but for the world in which it seeks to transform. Scripture and culture must be engaged fully for the church to make a difference in the world. Disengagement happens when we are too focused on ourselves. But why are we focused on ourselves? Perhaps we are discouraged, overwhelmed with the problems in the world. But God is at work in the world. God said to the Hebrews: work, for I am with you. Will we join God in working toward wellness, shalom?

It isn’t hard to come up with examples of discouragement. I was particularly moved by photographs this week on the famine in Somalia and refugees in Kenya. Terrible conditions, lack of food and water, disease, overcrowded, lack of medical resources, dry dusty wind. I’ve made a commitment to pray daily for the hungry in these countries, and to learn more about their struggle. Maybe some of you are already doing so. We can encourage each other to pray for the hungry and the hurting.  When we encourage each other, we find ways to invent new ways of living. True wellness happens not by individual betterment, but by community transformation.

In Haggai’s time, the Hebrew people began reconstruction, but became discouraged when it was apparent that it was not comparable to it’s former glory.

They stood back and surveyed the rebuilt temple and groaned. It did not live up to the blueprints. God through the prophecy of Haggai needed to take them from defeat to shalom.

They felt disappointed and discouraged. God assured them that it was worth the effort. This is an important piece for us to consider when we are living out mission in the community and world. Sometimes we might stand back and say, did I really make a difference? Be encouraged. God sees us. We are not on our own. It is a collective work, and it takes time. We have faith, and keep on going.

In the Gospel reading today, we had the odd story of a very human Jesus not wanting to be bothered to heal a non-Jew. But the woman called him on it. Their exchange, the subsequent  healing of the woman’s daughter brought not only a physical healing, but a healing of an ethnic boundary. This is what brings Shalom. It’s an example of how shalom-building is not without it’s difficult stories. God through Haggai said three times, Have courage/be strong! Faith will help us overturn every obstacle.

Things are not what they used to be. Post-Christian culture, economic crisis, etc. Change is coming at break-neck speed. But we must not despair, because God is with us. Take heart, have courage, and seek shalom. You may feel disappointed that your efforts are small, but God says, be strong. I will bless you.

Do you ever avoid faith community because of feeling depressed, discouraged, cynical? Because you have “too much to do as it is”, trying to get your life in order? or “just trying to survive?” It is easier to survive together. It is easier to survive when we share with each other, when we encourage one another, when we cultivate hope, when we strive for shalom.

Faith community is where we can be encouraged to offer hope to our neighbors. Wholeness is offered by those who practice being the hands and feet of Jesus. Invite another church-goer to your home. Invite someone who’s never been to church. Start a knitting ministry, share food, offer to teach computer skills. In community we practice living like Jesus, and then go out and serve beyond. We find wholeness together, not on our own. By working together. Creating, building, serving up hope together. Strengthening the presence of the church in the world. Church 360 is a completely different kind of church survey.  It assesses not the internal programs and structure of a church, but the readiness of that church to engage the culture beyond it’s walls.

The documentary film “Serving Life” is about practicing resurrection in the place where loss of hope is assumed. The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.  They have run a hospice program for over ten years, and the volunteers are all long-term inmates themselves. Because the average sentence at the maximum security prison is 93 years, many inmates eventually die from natural causes.

How do we make excuses to get out of shalom-building? We may say, but we need to strengthen our own family, get our finances in order, stay afloat. But if we are all living for ourselves and our families, wellness in the community and world will not happen. Wellness happens together.

For Eagle Harbor Church to cultivate shalom, we need to put more resources and time outside of ourselves. It is about building something new together. It starts with an assessment of needs. Economic needs and housing is one. Another is depression rate. Mentoring can make a powerful difference in the lives of the mentor and mentee. Money management, parent support, helping kids who are struggling in school, etc. Marriage seminars.  But first we need to listen. To God, to Scripture, prayer, listening to our neighbors. Then the importance of working on our own homes will lose some of it’s power. We can listen to what God has to say: Take heart, be strong, have courage!