lenten blog | March 20, 2024

And Jesus had to hide

Throughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches.  These are the suggested readings for March 20th:  Psalm 119:9-16; Haggai 2:1-9, 20-23; and John 12:34-50.  I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.

The one Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Scriptures consists of the writings of three separate prophets:  one prior to Jerusalem’s defeat and exile, a second during the early years of exile and the third as the People of God prepare to return to the Holy Land.  In the last chapter of that last prophetic voice, the one named Trito-Isaiah, he writes, “Thus says the Lord:  Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is my resting place?” (66:1)  As Israel has known the depravations of defeat and exile, they hear of God’s righteousness and it is not in hopes of an opulent temple and the sacrifices offered. (66:3-4)  And yet, once the people return to Jerusalem, a subsequent prophet, the one we read today, speaks instead of exactly what Trito-Isaiah had disparaged.  Haggai writes of God’s revelation: “I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendour, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.”

What do you do when two canonical prophets disagree so clearly?  If one is to refrain from choosing between biblical authors, a possible alternative is to realize that prophets are not so much about predicting the future, but speaking to the present.  To see the present differently is to see it prophetically.  The Lord speaks through Haggai:  “Who is left among you that saw this house [Solomon’s Temple] in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? Yet now take courage …”  The people had been impoverished.  They remain subjugated.  The temple they rebuild is poor in comparison with that of the one Solomon erected during Israel’s days of glory.

Haggai promises that such glory will return in the future, while Trito-Isaiah cared little for the prospect.  However, Haggai’s words may not be future oriented.  To a discouraged people the prophet is offering encouragement.  Obviously, their situation pales in comparison with the Jerusalem of old, but the prophet offers them hope nonetheless.

It is the same with the people’s hope for the return of the Davidic king.  In Zerubbabel, the people have a blood descendent of David, and of Zerubbabel the prophet writes, “On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.”  In history, Zerubbabel disappears.  He is not the first of a restored dynasty.  He fails.  The prophecy of his future does not come to pass.  However, to a people in need of hope, Haggai lifts-up Zerubbabel. 

Haggai is a warning against literalism and expecting too much of prediction in prophecy.  God tends mostly to surprise.  We can see this again in the life of Jesus.  In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus comes as a surprising Messiah and is accordingly rejected and conspired against by authorities who are confident they know what God should do.  Jesus, realizing the severity of their threat, “departed and hid from them.”  Jesus enters the world as the light of God, but to prevent a premature execution He must go into hiding.  Jesus will now prepare a small cadre of followers so that when He is taken from them, they may continue the ministry and gospel Jesus began. 

It is a sobering thought to be reminded that God came into the world in Jesus and the world forced Jesus into hiding.  This is not a charge limited to the Roman and Jewish authorities of millennia ago.  Christians still today choose to ignore the radicalness, the originality, the strangeness and discomfort of Jesus’ gospel.  We tame Jesus.  We train Jesus to affirm what we choose to choose.  I remember President Lincoln’s words that God was punishing both North and South in the Civil War because both were complicit in the sin of treating other people as property.  That was prophetic.  Lincoln didn’t use God to justify his side.  Lincoln looked at slavery and realized that God was pleased with neither side. 

Lent is a time of deep introspection.  It is a time to look past what we expect and what we imagine of ourselves.  Lent is a time to look at the crucified Saviour and be as honest as possible about why He hung there, and to take that most-expensive revelation and try our best to live accordingly. 
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If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule:  www.sneucc.org/lectionary.