It was a loud party day, a celebration of what God had done for God’s people, marked by movement and music and food and joy. On that day the Lord spoke to Haggai. Haggai probably said, “What?” and held his hand behind his ear. ”Was that the shofar, or was that God?”

Somehow God’s voice cut right through the noise of the celebration. The message was all about God’s house, how it was rebuilt or not rebuilt. It didn’t have the grandeur it used to have. Plus, there was a ho-hum quality to the worship. God said, “How does it look to you now?” Was God trying to shame them? “You’ve given me a shack,” God said. “It’s a dump, an eyesore!”

Maybe God was hinting about something beyond the building. The second Temple wasn’t as grand as the first. But God had said, ”Don’t worry about it. I’m always with you. You’re going to be afraid. You’re going to feel . . . shaky. Then you’re going to figure out what really matters. What the treasure really is.”

We can value buildings and festivals and our right to think as we please, blowing horns and making a ruckus. We can value a way of life that is about placing ourselves over others. But during the noise of this protestation God says, “How does it look to you now?”

Not so great. I vote for the glory of God.