Homily for the Commemoration of the Holy Prophet Haggai
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Haggai is one of the last prophets of the Old Testament. He began prophesying in the second year of the reign of Darius Hystaspes (520 BC). Haggai's three major prophecies make up the tenth book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. His speeches are addressed to the Jewish king Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua, both of whom he met during his lifetime. He reproaches them for their inaction and encourages them to resume the restoration of the Jerusalem Temple, whose construction had been halted by Darius's predecessor due to accusations from the Samaritans. His book is devoted to the significance of the Temple and its worship. People often say that the most important thing is to believe in one's soul that the Temple is not in the logs, but in the ribs. It is precisely against such assertions that the Holy Spirit rises up and raises the Prophet Haggai.
He addresses the people of Israel, who had just returned from captivity, rebuilt their homes, but were in no hurry to rebuild the Temple of God.
Addressing the people, the Prophet says: “'You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.' Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the Temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,' says the Lord. 'You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?' says the Lord of hosts. 'Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands'” (Hag. 1:6-11).
Further, the Lord says through the Prophet: "'According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!' For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this Temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter Temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Hag. 2:5-9).
The Lord promises greater glory for the Second Temple. If the First Temple was renowned for the Ark of the Covenant, containing the "Urim and Thummim," which answered those who asked it through the special element of the High Priest, then the Second Temple will be even more glorious, because "I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations" (Hag. 2:7).
And so it happened: the Desired One of all nations, Christ the Savior, appeared in this Temple. He reconciled people and abolished the Old Testament sacrifice.
The Prophet Haggai, conveying the words of the Lord, says: “I will shake heaven and earth; I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms, and I will destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots and those who sit on them, and the horses and their riders will be thrown down, one by the sword of another” (Haggai 2:21-22). And so it happened: the Lord came into the world, shook it, and transformed all creation. And the era of victory over death began. Where the regenerating power of the Lord is absent, there is decay and death, passions and sin.
May the Lord, through the prayers of the Prophet Haggai, grant us to build temples of the body — physical and, at the same time, spiritual! For the two are interconnected.
May God help us with this!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
