FOUNDATIONS FOR PEACE

HAGGAI 2:20-23
Second Sunday of Easter
Pastor Tim Smith

GOD SHAKES THE WORLD FOR US AND FOR HIS KINGDOM

Is it possible to give anything to God? Why do we give to God? Why do we give offerings and other gifts to support God’s work? What if we don’t agree with the way that work is being done – should we keep our offerings and our time and our volunteer service back as a kind of “vote of no confidence”?

What makes us want to give to the Lord? Is it because it makes us feel good? Is it because offerings and gifts to a not-for-profit organization are tax deductible? Is it because we feel some sense of obligation and therefore we give to assuage feelings of guilt? Is it because helping an organization like a church gives us a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and pride, to know that we’ve made a difference?

I would hope that any child here would be able to recite the simple answer to this question: We give because we’re thankful for what God gave us. But is there a more complex, a more grown-up; a more ‘realistic’ answer? Something like “It costs money to keep the doors of a church open. There are some paper costs and technology costs and utilities, and our church envelopes alone cost several thousand dollars each year and the salaries and the insurance for our school staff and our called church staff and our hourly staff all add up to pretty big amount…”?

To find some answers to these questions, we are going to visit the final words of the prophet Haggai, as we contemplate the many ways we respond to God, who shakes the world for us and for his kingdom.

Zerubbabel the Lord’s Signet Ring
20 The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
23 “‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” (NIV)

To fully understand what God was saying through his prophet, we’re going to go into some family history for this man, Zerubbabel. Besides having a name that’s fun to say, Zerubbabel is mentioned in no less than seven books of the Bible, Old and New Testaments. Not seven men with the same name – one man, mentioned 25 times in seven different books of the Bible.

Sounds like we should know something about this man, doesn’t it? Zerubbabel was the connection between the people after the exile and the line of the Kings of Judah.

Let’s go back and learn one or two dark secrets about one of the last of those kings. And if you’re like me, this part of Israel’s history is confusing and almost frustrating and we seldom have a reason for looking too closely at these men.

But let’s go back to King Jehoiachin. In fact, let’s just call him “King Jack.” Jack was the 19th out of 20 Kings of Judah, and he is noteworthy for three reasons: During King Jack’s reign, the family of Esther – her parents and her uncle Mordecai – were carried off to Babylon. Also, even though there was a last, 20th king, most of the exiles kept track of time based on King Jack’s time as King – since he was taken into exile and even treated like a royal guest for the rest of his life, which he spent in Babylon. Finally, the Lord’s judgment on King Jack was much more severe than the judgment he got from Babylon. Jeremiah tells us that God told Jehoiachin, “If you were a signet ring on my finger, I would pull you off.” (Jer. 22:24)

A King’s signet ring was the most important form of identification in ancient times. He used it to seal official documents in wax with the king’s symbol or name. He might give it to someone else to act with his authority. Today it would be like having the President’s I.D. Card – or the machine that can automatically sign the President’s name. When it was given to a man, it meant that he could put the king’s approval on anything he wanted. The king let him have his identity and in particular, his authority. But God told King Jack, “I’m taking my name away from you. You were my signet ring, but I’m pulling you off my finger.” That’s how the exile began.

But now, God told King Jack’s grandson, Zerubbabel, “I’m giving my name back to you – in fact, you will stand in my place before the people.” God was restoring the relationship between him and his people through this governor, Zerubbabel, the grandson of Judah’s Second-to-last King.

Zerubbabel is like a knot that ties the line from King David to the exile, and from the exile to Christ. And on this knot, God stamps his seal with his signet ring, his approval and authority, and he tells this man, Zerubbabel, You are the ring itself.

Zerubbabel was the last member of David’s line to hold an office in the Bible. After Zerubbabel’s governorship, Nehemiah became the governor, and soon enough, the Romans would make Pontius Pilate the governor. But just now, at this moment, Zerubbabel stood as a reminder of God’s promises. The Christ would come. God had “overturned royal thrones.” God had tossed aside nations and armies to bring about his plan.

God told Zerubbabel, “I have chosen you.” And that’s the same thing God has said to us. He chose us.

And that brings us back to our question: What makes us want to give to the Lord? What motivates us to want to give something back to God? Any answer we give that comes from obligation (or from gain) is going to steer us down the wrong path. We could say, we could easily say: “If every family, or every member – everybody who has a church envelope – if everybody gave a certain amount, or if everybody would increase our offerings by a certain dollar amount – two dollars a week, or twenty dollars a week – then we would have no more troubles at all.

But we don’t give to keep ourselves out of trouble. That’s focusing on us, and not on God. The child’s answer is only right answer: We give because we’re thankful for what God gave us.

God tossed aside nations and rulers, God moved countries and people, God shakes the world for us and for his kingdom – and we thank him. And that’s that.

That’s why we give. That’s why we donate our time. That’s why we want to learn more about our Lord.

After Jesus rose from the dead and was about to ascend into heaven, he said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me – therefore go and make disciples (Mt. 28:18).” God gave Jesus his authority – but not merely as a ring that could be taken off or given again. God gave to Jesus his authority and his approval for all time, because Jesus has God’s identity.

And Jesus came to put an end to our sin, and to fulfill the law. So when we think about giving our time for the kingdom of God, it isn’t about fulfilling an obligation. Jesus fulfilled it already. We give our time out of thanks.

When we think about lending our talents or our interests and abilities for the kingdom of God, it isn’t so that we’ll feel better – Jesus has healed our wounds and rescued us from the pit of sin and despair. We give our talents and abilities out of thanks.

And when we give anything else for the kingdom of God, it isn’t because we have a duty to give. Jesus gave everything. Jesus paid with his blood – and he even covered over the sins of giving for the wrong reasons, which are really violations of the First, Second and Third Commandments, placing something above Christ, misusing his name and reputation, and failing to worship, revere and respect him.

But he has forgiven these sins, too. He shakes the world for us and his kingdom. And we respond in thanks, and in love.

April 15,16 – 2006
St. Paul’s Lutheran church – New Ulm, MN
Pastor Don Sutton

Isaiah 25:6-9

“On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. 9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

What’s for dinner today? Ham and baked potatoes? Chicken? Tacos? Honey Nut Cheerios? I’ll bet that there would be a wide variety of things consumed by us today for Easter dinner. In Isaiah 25 God picks up on the concept of food. Because he made us and because our Lord Jesus is one of us, He knows food has a strong appeal to us. We need to eat. We like to eat. So God pictures a fine banquet ….Let’s call it ..
“THE EASTER FEAST.”

1. A Fine Feast
For our Easter Feast God takes out to dinner to a mountain-top restaurant – “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples.” The mountain is Mt. Zion. This is the name given to one of the rocky ridges in ancient Israel. The name eventually became an alias for Jerusalem. In the Old Testament quite often Mt. Zion is used to refer to God’s Church – all believers in Christ on earth and in heaven. It is this symbolic or figurative use that is applied in Isaiah 25. Holy Christian Church is God’s mountain-top restaurant.

God says through the prophet, “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.” God pictures prime-cut steaks or prime-rib, and $100-a-bottle wines. In case you don’t like red meat or drink wine, please mentally cooperate. Put this in the setting of ancient Israel. This is an appealing picture. God is using it to assure us that in his Church God will give people vital things they need here in time. He’s laying out a smorgasbord of love, peace, hope, joy, purpose and meaning for living. He’s providing spiritual power bars and make-you-feel-good food for the soul.

These are things that people try to get in many different directions – earthly success, wealth, popularity, relationships, recreation, education, pleasure, drugs, etc. Some of these things are nice – some necessary. But none of these things can fully satisfy the taste, the yearning for love, inner peace, hope, joy, purpose and meaning for life. Sometimes people try so hard but end up with so little. It’s like having the taste for a prime-cut, juicy steak and trying to satisfy it with a soy burger. To dine only on these things will leave a person spiritually malnourished and eternally dead of spiritual starvation.

But what man, money and worldly things can’t do to satisfy us, God can. In this life, through His Church, God lays before us prime rib and porterhouse steaks on the platter of the gospel. In the good news of Jesus Christ serves us his love – a love so deep that he damned his own Son rather than us who deserved. In the gospel God serves up peace – the peace of forgiveness that we have with God through Christ’s perfect life, his death on the cross, and his resurrection through which God says, “You are forgiven.” Through the gospel God serves us hope – the hope that all things work for our good and the hope that one day we will be with God in heaven. Through the gospel God gives us reason to live – we are here to serve and glorify God because he served and saved us from sin’s curse – death and hell. Through the gospel God gives us power and his Holy Spirit works in our hearts enabling us to believe in and do his will.

This is the Easter Feast. God says that this is “a feast of rich foods for all peoples.” This is for you and for others. This is yours and theirs through faith.

2. The Shroud Is Removed
But you can’t eat what you can’t see or what you don’t know is there. A cookie jay can become empty and stay empty for weeks. Someone can bake cookies and fill the jar. But unless you remove the cover of the cookie jar and see the cookies inside, you can’t enjoy them.
The same is true of God’s Easter Feast. If you can’t see it or don’t know about, you can’t even began to enjoy it. The fact is that a shroud or covering of spiritual ignorance keeps people from seeing the feast God has prepared for people on his mountain. This shroud is caused by sin. Most people in the world today still live under this shroud. Christ is their Savior, but they don’t know or see him. Forgiveness is there, but they don’t have it by faith. Peace is there but it isn’t part of their lives. Hope is here but they don’t have it. Christ, God’s Son, shines as the Light of the world. But the shroud of ignorance and unbelief keep people from this life-giving Light. If the shroud is not removed one lives in spiritual darkness, dies and is damned forever. We were all born under this shroud.

God has removed this covering from us. Sending his Spirit into our hears through baptism and the light-giving gospel, God enabled us to see him not only as a holy God, but as a loving Father who saved us through his Son sacrificed for us. Now, on a continual basis God gives us power to live in faith and to show love for him and for one another.

But even as we Christians live our lives, this shroud can begin to cover us again. If we neglect worship and the Word, if we become nonchalant in respect to sin, if we become unresponsive to God’s Word, then the shroud of ignorance, unbelief and sin can begin to cover us. As a result we begin to spiritually hunger and thirst but can’t see or forget the feast God has laid out for us in the Gospel. This is why we, God’s people want to use God’s Word faithfully on our own and with our fellow Christians in our church so that the shroud, once, removed, does not return. We want to continue to eat from God’s Easter Feast.

3. Death is Swallowed Up
Speaking of food and meals, have you ever wondered about the last meal served to a person about to be executed? The news media often reports on what the person had for his, and now her last meal – steak and lobster with a backed potato, salad, cheese cake and diet coke …. A double cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate malt. The thing I wonder about is if you’re going to die in an hour or two, how can you even begin to enjoy that last meal?

Likewise if death still awaits us how can we enjoy the feast God lays out for us through his church, his mountain-top restaurant? Isaiah indicates that God has taken care of this too. He wrote, “He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.” “Swallowing up death” – now that’s pretty graphic. One summer I fish-sat for some friends for a couple of weeks. They had piranha. The piranha ate gold fish. My first day on the job I put the gold fish in the piranha tank and waited for the flying of fins and flesh as the razor-sharp piranha teeth tore their prey. But my sadistic anticipation went unsatisfied. In one gulp the piranha swallowed the goldfish. In but a moment it was over.

In but a moment Christ swallowed up death. It was a moment early on that first day of the week following Jesus crucifixion. At that moment Christ came to life. With the jaws of eternal life, he swallowed up death. As St. Paul wrote, “Death no longer has mastery over him (Rom 6:9).”

Unless Jesus comes in our lifetime, we too will have to deal with death. But because of Jesus and his death and resurrection, when we die we will have life with Jesus. At the moment of our death our soul will leave our body and go to be with Jesus in heaven where we will feast on his perfect love, peace, joy, hope and harmony that exist in the presence of God. And when Jesus returns in glory on the last day, he will swallow up death for our bodies as he raises our bodies and glorifies us together with all who have died in the Lord. This is why St. Paul wrote, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that that is written will come true, ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’” On that day God will feed us with an Easter Feast in his Church in heaven.

4. Rejoice & Be Glad
Isn’t this reason to rejoice and be glad? God thinks so. So he moved Isaiah to write, “In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

When we feast with God on his mountain in eternity, we will behold God’s glory, enjoy perfect peace, have complete contentment, be fully free from sin, and have life to the fullest. Then we will say, we trusted him and he didn’t let us down. We will rejoice and be glad to perfection. But while we have to wait to have and be these things to perfection, we already have these blessings and opportunities now. God has saved us. We have spiritual life. We have peace. Our sins are forgiven. We have spiritual power. Jesus has swallowed up death and will do it for us. We eat from God’s Easter Feast.

Therefore rejoice and be glad. Live every day to the glory of God. Even though there may be things that make you sad, rejoice in your hearts. God loves you and is with you and in you. Rejoice in worship. Rejoice as you witness to others. Remember that God’s Easter Feast is for all peoples … All nations.
Rejoice and be glad. Amen.