Anyone interested in being a prophet?

A prophet says things no one wants to hear.  That includes me.  That includes you.

A prophet is blessed (or some would say, cursed) with such clarity of vision that all the broken, stained, deceitful places we manage to overlook are as real as a cow in the middle of the highway.  You simply can't ignore it and getting around it is a tricky business.

A prophet speaks in God's name and calls us to turn away from our practices that dishonor God and God's purposes in this world.  "Stop doing that!" says the prophet and the people throw stones. 

We don't want to give up our comfortable habits; our settled in routines; our positions of power and authority.  We pretend the problems don't exist (racism or sexism) or aren't that bad or will go away in time (civil rights).  "Stop doing that, NOW" the prophet says and we call him/her a crank or a crazy. 

Jesus was recognized as a prophet among his own people.  We recognize that Jesus calls us to stop living the way we are.  Worst of all, we recognize that if Jesus was right, we would have to work hard to live as he lived.

So, people say to me, 'all the church does is make you feel bad.'  Well, yeah.  God calls us to live an authentic life in service to God and our neighbor (which we only do haphazardly) and a prophet makes sure we know God is talking to us.  Interested in the job?  We're not even interested in the prophet's advice!

Who do people say that I am?

          

This is the crux of the issue:  who exactly is this Jesus?   The disciples answered, "John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets."  We are no more agreed on the answer today than the people were of his time. 

Christians have proclaimed this Jesus to be : Christ, the King (Chi Rho),  the Alpha and Omega (God's first and last), and, using the fish symbol Jesus, the Christ, God's son, Savior.   [that is what these symbols for Jesus Christ mean.]

Every believer needs to answer that question for themselves.  Who is this Jesus?  What is Jesus' relationship to the Creator God?  What benefit is there for me in the life, ministry and death of this Jesus?  How is my life changed by this one called Jesus?

Yes, the Church can give you answers, as the symbols above attest.  But, it seems to me, until you wrestle with this question yourself those answers have little traction in your life.  And as Jesus will begin teaching his disciples, without the cross, those answers mean nothing at all.

Bless us in our seeking O Lord.  May we see your presence each day.  AMEN

Hunger

This is a heads up.  Eat a good breakfast Sunday because the sermon is going to be about hunger, and if you are like me, all it takes is someone talking about hunger to get my stomach rumbling...or is that grumbling?

Our lessons are the story of David and Bathsheba (see two previous posts) and Jesus feeding the 5000.  Now I know why I chose the 2 Samuel story of David for the Old Testament text.....it is just too good a story to miss.  But it wasn't clear how that story connected in any way to Jesus' feeding the 5000.  (And to tell the truth, the lectionary folks didn't intend it to.  2 Samuel is the alternate OT text).

But then the word struck:  HUNGER.  What we want, what we need, and where it all leads us.  For some it leads to Jesus and God.  For others, it becomes a great abyss into which we fall. 

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled."  Mt5.6

The writer of 2 Samuel tells us "But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD and the LORD sent Nathan to David."  2 Sam12.1    When the prophet comes a-callin' at your door, be prepared to repent.

That's what we are talking about Sunday, but it certainly is a good topic for conversation all week.