The Prophetic Voice

Democracy has its own unique way of silencing the prophetic voices which would speak to those in authority in the church.  One of the things which has happened in my denomination, the United Methodist Church, is a multi decade process of agitation and conflict that finally resulted in the departure of those who are considered to be the conservative traditional members of the body. Two large groups, one liberal and the other conservative, finally came to a place where finding a way forward together was deemed impossible.  

The end result of such a division is multi faceted, but one of the things which has happened is that those who continue with the name United Methodist no longer have anyone to speak a dissenting voice.  Any votes now taken concerning direction of the church are nearly unanimous since there is no one to say "No."  There is no such voice now being spoken to those in authority as that voice as has been voted into extinction. It is dangerous ground for any person in spiritual authority to walk.  It is a dangerous place for a church to place itself.

The prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos may not have been heeded, but their voices continued to be spoken to those in authority.  They might have been thrown into prison, or been ridiculed, or ignored, but their voices remained. Those in authority are better able to serve when there are those around them who are given permission to be naysayers instead of yes people.  This is true in political circles and it is true in the church.  There are no prophetic voices in the church which ordained me long years ago and it is the source of much anguish and grief.  

Biblical Trivia

While I hesitate to use the word "trivia" to speak of some things written in the Bible, it is a word which seems appropriate when we run into surprising little details which are a part of the major story being told in unfolding story of the Word of God.  In recent readings in Jeremiah, I came across a record of the Lord saying to the prophet, "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters." (Jeremiah 16:1)  Of course, this personal aspect of Jeremiah's life was a part of God's prophetic message through him.  As is often the case, one things leads to another.  

I wondered about the personal life of other prophets.  Isaiah 7:3 speaks of the prophet's son accompanying him and Isaiah 8:3 says of Isaiah, "I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son."  Hosea's marital situation is a major part of what God was saying through him.  "...the Lord said to Hosea, 'Go take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom.'"  (Hosea 1:2). When she left him, Hosea found her and bought her back from a life of prostitution. (Hosea 3:1-2).  Ezekiel's marriage story is the strangest.  "The Word of the Lord came to me: 'Mortal, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes; yet, you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down...' So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died." (Ezekiel 24:15-18.  

As we read the personal details of these prophets, we do so in the context of the the ministry and the message of the prophet.  God had a word He wanted to say to His people and He used not only the prophets voice, but often used the personal lives of the prophets as well as visible enactments to speak that word and message.  It is not always easy to understand.  When we read, we can only shake our heads in wonder at why God did what He did.  What we often discover is that what we might call Biblical trivia is an integral part of what God was doing through Israel's prophets.

The Hard Way

Jeremiah was a faithful prophet, but it was not easy,  He was told by God, "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters in this place."  (Jeremiah 16:1). He was put in stocks and thrown in prison.  He was told by God to speak His word, but no one listened.  He said of himself, " I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me..." (Jeremiah 20:7).  He wanted to give it up.  He spoke of the conflict within which centered around his desire to be liked by his peers and being faithful to God, "If I say, 'I will not mention Him, or speak anymore in His name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in and I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:9).   

Being a faithful speaker of God's word did not earn him any popularity award.  All of us want to be liked by others and Jeremiah was no exception, but it was not the reward he received.  His reward came from God for being a bold prophet who stood to speak the uncomfortable word no one one wanted to hear.  Because of his trust in the Lord, he was blessed.  "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord.  They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream...it does not cease to bear fruit."  (Jeremiah 17:7-8).  

Anyone who seriously studies the prophets comes to the conclusion that faithfulness to God will likely result in persecution.  Persecution today may not take the form of being hung on a cross, or burned at the stake.  It may be something as simple as not being taken seriously, being dismissed as being old fashioned and irrelevant, or speaking but not being heard.  To be traditional in this progressive society often results in becoming a laughingstock.  Faithfulness to God has always been the life of swimming upstream, of being different, and of being tolerated but not really accepted in the circles of the powerful and all knowing ones.  It is good to count the cost at the beginning for it is certain that the life of faithfulness to God will be costly.

Where Are the Prophets?

Preachers and prophets may have in common a call from God, but the role to which they are called is different.  When I say that preachers are " a dime a dozen," I mean no disrespect.  I have and still do regard myself as one of them.  Instead, it is to say there are a multitude of preachers, but very few prophets.  A preacher may speak prophetically from time to time, but the preacher is the "general practitioner" of the church while the prophet has a more specific function.   Prophets are hard to find because it is a tough calling to embrace.  

The life of Jeremiah certainly illustrates this reality.  Jeremiah is often called the reluctant prophet.  His calling came at a young age and when he heard it, he said, "Ah, Lord God!  Truly, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy."  (Jeremiah 1:6).  Immediately, he heard the Lord telling him he was to speak to authority, to rulers, and priests as well as those under their authority.  He was told his message was a message of judgment and destruction against Jerusalem and Judah.  Imagine the fear in young Jeremiah's heart when he heard the Lord saying to him, "...gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I have commanded you.  Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them." (Jeremiah 1:17)  

Anyone interested in being a prophet?  It is no wonder that there few among us.  Prophets speak to authority.  They are easily dismissed as fanatics, or fringe dwellers, or one issue people.  They find themselves ignored because their message is so uncomfortable to hear.  They are told to find the compromising way but they cannot because of their faithfulness to God and His calling.  Again, who among us wants the prophet to live among us?  Who wants to live and speak prophetically?

An Unpopular Word

Sin is not such a popular word in our culture.  Many modern day Christians view it more as an anachronism than a present danger.  The defining word about sin now belongs not to the Holy Word of God, but to society's interpretation of that Word once regarded as holy and inspired by God.  Contemporary Christian thinkers would have us delegate sin to the counselor's couch instead of the altar of repentance.  The one thing to be avoided in the contemporary church is to make people feel bad.  Folks should always feel good when they leave worship is the mandate given to today's preachers and worship leaders.  

It is, therefore, no wonder the church of our day is more comfortable with the New Testament message about God's love than some of those disturbing thundering words of the prophets who speak from the pages of the Old Testament.  To read a prophet like Jeremiah is to understand that sin is a serious issue when it comes to being in a faithful relationship. Sin is a breech of trust, a breech of a covenant relationship, and God does not just turn His head and say, "Maybe you can do better next time."  

Jeremiah 16:17-18 speak of a side of God we would rather not acknowledge, "For my eyes are on their ways; they are not hidden from My presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from My sight. And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin..."  Perhaps, some do not take sin seriously, but God does.  It is no trifling matter with Him.  To view sin from any perspective other than the cross where Jesus died is a mistake.  The cross may speak of God's love, but it also speaks of the cost of our sin.  For God our sin is no inconsequential matter, but an issue which breaks His heart.

The Gift of Completion

As the years accumulate they bring us to a season of life that is lived slower, a season that is marked by limitations, and a season of letting go.  They also bring us to a season of abundant gifting.  The gifts that come are not like the gifts of the past known as accumulation, recognition, and unending possibilities.  The gifts that come in the season of accumulating years come like precious treasures.  Gifts of grace is what they are and as we slowly unwrap them, we do so with amazement that we never knew they were out there to be given.   

Completion is one of those gifts that never comes earlier, but always later.  It is not the gift of seeing and reaping the fruits of our labor secured by the sweat of our brow, but the gift of sensing that the important, lasting, even eternal things of life are finally becoming visible to our longing heart.  Completion is about coming to terms with who we are, why we have been given more life than we ever really considered possible, and the difference our living has made.  Completion is not about retiring to the rocker on the front porch, but accepting the ending of the past and the unfolding of a new season of usefulness.  

This season of abundant giving gives us time to laugh over things past and present.  It gives us time to cherish the love of those who have shared and are sharing love with us.  It is a season of overflowing gratitude.  It is the season of knowing and celebrating "'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home,"  Completion is truly experienced as we embrace the realization that life has always been about grace.  Too much of life we have been too busy to notice.  This season of abundant gifting brings us to an awareness that even in the beginning, as it is now, life is all about God's unending grace. 

The Potter's House

"Go!" was what I heard.

    "No buts, no ifs, or ands,

      No whining either.

         Just get up and go."

            So I up and went

to the potter's house.

In a place of wet clay  

     sat a bearded man,

       the ancient of days

        was surely his name

           And so, I said,

"Old One, here I am."

"Been waiting," he said,

    "What took you so long?"

        My head was spinning,

          no words did I know,

            so I sat to watch

the hands, wheel, the clay.

"Why the potter's house?

    Why did You say 'Go?' 

       There is nothing here,

         but the smell of clay

           and this bearded one

who has nothing to say."

"Watch, be quiet, be still,"

     spoke the voice of "Go!"

       Through the day we sat,

         He, the potter, and I.

           Nary a sound was heard,

but wet spinning clay.

"Damn!' the potter cried.

    "That won't do," he said

        as he stopped the wheel,

          took the messed up clay

            in his hands like dough

and started over again.

In my watching I knew

   why the voice said, "Go!"

     The potter's house, the place

       where the Word of God

         is heard by those who fear 

they might be thrown away.

       

(Jeremiah 18:1-6)