Jesus, Not Jesús: Finding The Divine In The Space Between Us.
  • Be Kind
  • About this blog
  • About the author
  • Contact
  • Be Kind
  • About this blog
  • About the author
  • Contact

Making A Prophet

2/1/2015

 
Fourth Sunday After The Epiphany                                    
Readings:  Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Mark 1:21-28

In case you didn't know, today is Super Bowl Sunday. This is the day when one of the most epic battles of the year will take place. I’m not talking about the one between Seattle and New England, I think we know who will win that one. I'm talking about the war between Mac vs. PC; BMW vs. Audi; Coke vs. Pepsi. Yes, today is the day that advertisers come out in full force. Companies will spend $4.5 million for a :30 second chance to grab your attention…and convince you to come over to their side. They will use sexy celebrities, pro athletes, pop stars and diva’s, in hopes that you will take notice.

Did you know that each year advertising research firms come up with a new matrix or methodology to calculate how well these ads did, to see if their investment paid off...but none of these test have ever proven more reliable as the profit earned at the cash register. As the legendary Adman David Ogilvy would say, "They either buy the product or they don’t."  It's that simple. 

As for us, we've spent the last couple of weeks looking at different ways God has called out to us. We too have done so by looking at a particular methodology and how it worked to call nearly every biblical legend. That is to say, first they discover it is God who was calling; then they Decide on how to answer the call; lastly they took some kind of Action. Not as simple as deciding between McDonald’s or Burger King, but just the same we can either accept or reject God’s call. 

Today, we are going to switch it up, and look at a particular kind of calling, one where saying, “No thanks” is not an option. I’m talking about the calling of the prophets. This is prophets spelled p-r-o-ph-e-t  and not the kind found at cash registers. There is much to know about prophets. But since some of us have chicken wings and cheese dips to prepare, I'll just highlight a few of them. 

First of all, Prophets are not popular people. They are nothing like the Tom Brady’s or Russell Wilson’s of Biblical characters. I suspect they’re unpopular because they’re called to speak the words of God. Words that we don’t always want to hear because they make us face the truth about who we really are.  It’s also worth noting that prophets are not just unpopular, but often rejected and shunned. After all, being the moral and ethical agent for God is about as welcoming as...a telemarketer calling in the middle of the night. I can't imagine how much fun it is to hang out with someone who constantly holds up a mirror so we can see all the blemishes of our faith...in relation to what God wants of us. God chooses prophets. And it is through their words God calls us back into a covenant community through repentance.  Jesus was the perfect example of a prophetic call, and yet, look where it got him.  

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus stands in the Temple, preaching with great authority. He preached like nothing they ever had heard before. He spoke the truth so boldly and clearly, that people were not just shocked, but worried. Like the prophets who had come before him, Jesus openly exposed their sins, but also showed them God’s mercy and grace.  He gave clear directions on how to find redemption. In fact, Jesus was so good at proclaiming the Word of God that the people had no other choice but to repent...or to kill him. 

Let me ask you this: Who in your life has told you the truth so clearly that you would want to kill him for doing it?  Think about that for a second. Has there ever been a person in your life who has known you so well and spoken to you so truthfully that you’d do anything to keep that truth from exposing your sins?

Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “Jesus is not just the one who comforts, but the one who also challenges and upsets us, telling us the truth so clearly that we will do appalling things to make him shut up. If you do not believe that, maybe it is because you have not recognized Christ in some of the offensive people God has sent your way-people sent to yank our chains and upset our equilibrium so we do not confuse our own ideas of God with God.”

Prophets may not be popular, or always welcomed...but they are necessary if we are going to be faithful to God who continues to call out to us. This God is a God who gives us unconditional love so that we always have a place to come home to within God's covenant community. This is why Prophets are so important. They tells us what we need to know to keep our relationship with God faithful. 

When God spoke through the prophet Moses, we got not 10 but 613 commandments on how to live in community with one another. And when God spoke through Isaiah and Jeremiah, we received the hopeful promises of God's grace for our repentance. Humans are not very good at obeying commandments, or faithfully relying on the hope of God’s grace. God spoke directly through Jesus, the very Word of God made flesh. Instead of listening to God, we listen to the voices in the world, the voices that tell us not only what to buy, but how to become powerful on the backs of the powerless, the poor and the weak. God calls the prophets to set us straight. But how well do we listen?

As the children of Israel are about to enter into a new land, God promises them a prophet to replace Moses. This prophet will come from within the community, from one of “your own people.” Because of this we often have trouble seeing prophets who are "one of us." They are too much like you and me. They know too much about us. Jesus quickly discovered his own people could not see him for who he was; the promised Messiah that they had been praying for. Ironically, it was a demon, who called him out by name the Holy One of God.  

When Jesus walked and talked among his own kind, they didn’t like what they were hearing. When he ate and drank with the less fortunate and undeserving, his people didn't like what they saw. Jesus was saw them and exposed them for who they really were. He called them out, naming their sins in public. Many would repent. But others killed him.

I wonder how different we are today. Bob Marley once famously sang, “How long will they kill our prophets, while we stand around and look?  Some say it’s just a part of it, we’ve got to fulfill the book.” How many prophets have we sacrificed for our sins? Mahatma Gandhi. Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr. to name a few.

I can’t imagine in our politically correct society that we are any different than our Jewish ancestors. If Jesus were here today, would we even recognize him? Do you think we could hear him speaking to us among the political rhetoric? Better yet, could we see him among the millions of homeless people on our streets? Prophets may not be popular, but they are needed.

And so I ask, “Where are all our prophets today?” Where are the voices crying out in the wilderness of modern society? Where are all of those who are standing up for social justice and human rights? Where are those who not only speak the words of God, but also put their words to work? 

Where are those who answered the call to be the hearts and hands and voices of Christ among us? Are they on the streets of our inner cities standing up against gun and gang violence? Are they in our classrooms, and churches and synagogues and mosques speaking up on the dignity of difference? Are they behind bars and prison walls, offering redemption and forgiveness; handing out pardons for a new life in Christ? Are they feeding the hungry, giving clothes and shelter to the poor, or advocating peace and freedom for all? Are they in the art galleries, publishing houses, or public airwaves upsetting the status quo and exposing the world to God’s love for justice and mercy? Are they us? Are we them?

If we are called by God to proclaim the Word of God, then what are we saying? What are we doing to redeem the world back its creator? Are we proclaiming God’s words so truthfully and clearly that people would want to kill us? Who here is willing to answer such a call...to live as Christ has commanded us to live? Who is willing to put down their guns and poisonous pens, and sit at the table with their enemy, to share the blessing of our Lord God?

 

(move to communion table)


Comments are closed.

    Ian Macdonald

    An ex-copywriter turned punk rock pastor and peacemaker who dedicates his life to making the world a better place for all humanity. 

    "that they all might be one"  ~John 17:21


    “Prius vita quam doctrina.”
    ​~ S
    t. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)​
    * “Life is more important than doctrine.”

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    February 2011
    December 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010

Be Kind

About this blog

About The Author

Contact

Copyright © 2011