The Desire of All Nations – Brad Jersak

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We all want Oneness with a Power Greater than Ourselves –

Haggai 2:7

‘I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty (NIV).

‘I …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 (ESV).

David Bentley Hart (Tradition and Apocalypse)

… the Christian narrative of salvation is the story, however diversely construed, of a real union of creatures with God himself,affected in the person and actions of the Son and by the mediation of the Spirit… Christ had assumed human nature so as to free it from bondage to death and make it capable of a direct dwelling of the divine presence.

“The desire of all nations”

What or Who do all nations desire? That’s a wildly expansive notion for a tribal prophet from an exclusivist nation. One way Jews and Christians have historically construed the phrase is that ‘the nations’ have an ache or a hunger in their hearts but they can’t put their finger on what exactly they are longing for. But we do. We know what they’re missing. And at least for Christians, it’s our responsibility to let them know. And when they hear the Good News of Jesus, they’ll get see it and rejoice. That’s one way to see it. I would even dare say I’ve witnessed it. And so would faith leaders of other traditions. I’ve certainly heard it from Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, and Atheists (off the top of my head). But let’s put a pin in that for now.

Another way to see it begins by listening rather than telling. What if we were to ask, “Is there a common desire that all of these faiths and non-faiths share?” We may conceptualize and define our answer differently. We will use different words and need to beware of false equivalencies. But Haggai’s vision and language are broad enough that I’ll venture a tentative response.

1. Ultimate Oneness with the Divine

Ultimate. I’m using that big word in its fullest and broadest senses. Ultimate is about the End and whatever lies beyond it. Ultimate is about culmination, about fulfillment, about expectations coming to their full flowering and the fruit that follows.

Oneness. Ultimately, the “eternity in human hearts” (Eccles. 3:11) is our longing for Oneness or Union with the Divine. What do we mean by oneness? What constitutes union? That depends on who you ask. That’s were diversity abounds, even within our own traditions, Scriptures, and hearts. Whether we speak of paradise, heaven, the kingdom of God, nirvana or a dozen other labels, it’s not about ‘where’ so much as the union or reunion of humanity and the Divine.

The Divine. Not my favorite word for what some call God, but it’s sufficiently vague to encompass the broadest range of names and images for “a power greater than ourselves” (to use 12-step lingo), whether those constructs are personal or impersonal, a divine Being or divinity beyond being, or a collective reference to “all our relations” (visible and invisible creatures), etc. Think big enough to include “the desire of all nations.”

2. “Salvation” (realization, reconciliation, restoration)

Now think about the distance between where we are now (individually, collectively) and that desired end. As Socrates says in Plato’s Symposium, ‘desire’ implies lack. So does hunger. So does longing. Where did that lack originate? Some would say it’s simply that we’re not fully grown. Others think our lack began with a fall or emerges as a dysfunction. Still others think the longing we suffer is about ignorance. Have you heard other accounts of where this distance comes from?

In any case, getting from here to there, alienation to reconciliation, fragmentation to oneness involves a journey, a quest… at least in terms of our experience. How we make that journey, or enter that kingdom, or attain oneness is an ongoing conversation, but in the Christian tradition, we sometimes refer to the Way home as “Salvation.” As best I can discern, every form of faith, religion, or spirituality has some notion of the “Sacred Way” or “Good Path” upon which we find our way to (or back to) Oneness with the Divine (to the Creator, Allah, God, Ultimate Reality, etc.

3. Mediator, Messiah, Saviour, Guru

While most faiths or non-faiths include principles and practices the serve as spiritual maps back home to our Source, they also generally recognize that the Divine is Transcendent, Mystery, Beyond, Above, Greater. No humanly constructed ladder reaches up to heaven. No spiritual system suffices to pull heaven down. No religious currency earns our entry into Paradise. We need help.

Haggai’s “Desire of all Nations” may ultimately be Oneness with the Divine, but also implies our need for ‘God’ to initiate our redemption. Most religious and irreligious narratives recognize our need for help—and that God sends that help. Call it a mediator, a messiah, a savior, a guru, a bodhisattva, a prophet—Haggai says “the desire of all nations” is not only the End we hope for, but also the One God sends to deliver that hope. Our salvation requires a Saviour. The divine aid delivered through a Saviour can be called grace.

Asking

Trying to find an equivalent across all nations overlooks our great differences and creates category errors. We talk differently and think differently. It is best to come with curiosity, humility, and respect, and then ask neighbors who share those values:

  • What is ‘the divine’ from your perspective? Your God.
  • What is ‘oneness with the divine’ in your view? Your heaven.
  • How to you think about getting to ‘oneness with the divine’? Your path.
  • How does ‘the divine’ deliver salvation? Your Saviour.
  • And how might my questions be the wrong question? Seriously, they might be.

For example, I might ask, “How do you attain oneness with the divine?” And many (from Christians to Hindus) might respond, “You already are One with God. You just need to see it.” Others might say, “Oneness is a lifelong journey. Just keep following the Creator (or Jesus, the Quran, the Gita, the Guru, the Truth, or your sponsor.”

The Promise

Haggai does not say, “The desire of the Christians will come and everyone else will realize they were totally wrong and are in for a great disappointment.” Rather, the One who Haggai sees coming is exactly what All Nations have been waiting for and “they shall come to that same Desire.”

And then? God says ‘this house’ will be filled with glory. Which house? Well, ‘this house’ was initially the second Jewish temple that Haggai was fundraising for. Then it was renovated by King Herod. There’s a sense in which this prophecy was fulfilled by the arrival of Jesus at the Temple during his ‘Triumphal Entry.’ But that temple was destroyed not longer after. Gratefully, Isaiah tells us that the whole world is God’s temple. And the promise stands: the Desire of all nations with come and all nations will be drawn to that Desire.

How will this look? How would I know? That’s as far as I got today.

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