Where Is Your House?

Hag 1:1-8, Psalm: 149, Lk 9:7-9

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, the Word of God today poses a question to each of us, a question about our priorities, our pursuits, and the ultimate dwelling place of our hearts.

The prophet Haggai speaks to a people who have returned from exile. They have begun to rebuild their lives, focusing on their own paneled houses, their security, and their comfort. Yet, the Lord’s house, the Temple, lies in ruins. Through Haggai, God asks them to consider their ways: “Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” He points to the fruitlessness of their efforts: they sow much but harvest little; they earn wages only to put them in a bag with holes. Their fundamental problem is one of disorder. They have put their own comfort before the glory of God, and in doing so, they have lost His blessing. The call is to repentance, to a reordering of their lives: “Go up into the hill country; bring timber, and build the house that I may take pleasure in it and receive my glory.”

This theme of a restless, misplaced heart finds a chilling echo in the Gospel. King Herod is perplexed and anxious. He hears about Jesus and the works of power He is performing. He is curious, even fearful, asking, “Who is this about whom I hear such things?” And the Gospel tells us, “He kept trying to see him.” But Herod’s desire to see Jesus is not the desire of a repentant sinner seeking salvation; it is the morbid curiosity of a guilty conscience. He is the embodiment of the person who invests in his own paneled palace—his power, his pride, his illicit relationships—while God’s presence is at work just outside his door. He wants a spectacle, not a Savior. He seeks to see Jesus, but not to let Jesus see into him and convert him.

Both passages are about spiritual priorities. Haggai’s audience neglected God’s house for their own. Herod was so consumed with his own kingdom that he had no room for the Kingdom of God. Both reveal a heart that is divided, seeking fulfillment in created things rather than in the Creator.

This World offers us a profound examination of conscience. Where are we investing our “timber”—our time, our talent, and our treasure? Are we building up our own comfortable, paneled houses—our careers, our reputations, our leisure—while the Lord’s house, both in our parish and in the hearts of those in need, lies neglected? Like Herod, do we merely want to see Jesus from a safe distance, to have a religion that is curious but not committed, one that doesn’t interfere with our personal kingdoms?

The comfort is that the Lord, in His mercy, sends us a Haggai. He calls us to “consider our ways,” not to condemn us, but to invite us back to the source of all blessing. He calls us to repentance, to a reordering of our lives where He truly comes first.

Let us ask for the grace to reorder our priorities. Let us bring our timber to build up the Church, to serve the poor, and to pray with devotion. For when we seek first the Kingdom of God, everything else—all the blessings we strive for—will be given to us besides. Amen.