Three questions for us to ponder as we begin today….
What is a prophet?
Who might be a prophet?
When might a prophet be needed?
Have a little think as I ramble on for a few moments.
Today it’s the second Sunday of Advent and we turn our attention to the Prophets, specifically John the Baptist. We’re going to be hearing more about John next week too, so we’re only going to touch the surface with our wildly wacky wanderer today.
But let’s begin at the beginning, because that’s a good place to start.
So, what is a prophet?
To put it very simply in a complicated world….a prophet is someone who speaks for God! A mouthpiece for God, if you like.Throughout biblical history the prophets have spoken for God. Sometimes it’s to warn God’s people that they are following an unwise path. Sometimes it’s to predict some future events, either good or bad. Some prophets gladly accepted the role God gave to them, others were….well let’s just say they were a little more human about it all.
So, who might be a prophet?
Well, there was Aaron, Amos, Deborah, Elijah, Ezekiel, Ezra, Gideon, Habakkuk, Philip, Paul, Zechariah, Zephaniah and last but not least, Malachi and John the Baptist, of whom we heard today. This is by no means an exhaustive list or one which captures every prophetic moment in the bible, but rather illustrates the variety of people used by God.
And do you know what all these people had in common…..nothing. Apart from being chosen by God to speak His word, they were all very different people from different walks of life.
Amos was a fig farmer and preached God’s word in a time of peace and relative tranquility in God’s kingdom.
Deborah was a pioneer of her day; the only female judge mentioned in the Old Testament.
Elijah was a teacher of prophets, and is known to have had a school of students of whom he taught. He defends God against the false gods of the day and is caught up into heaven leaving only his cloak behind.
Philip was a deacon called to look after the poor who gets a bit carried away and starts baptising someone in a puddle!
And John the Baptist….well, what can we say about John. John was the son of a priest and was a cousin of Jesus. We know he lived the wild life, choosing the spend his days in the wilderness eating wild honey and locusts, and his wardrobe choices leave much to be desired….opting for the as yet still unfashionable camel hair garments with stylish leather belt.
Are you beginning to see how, when we say ‘This person was a prophet’, that doesn’t really give us any clues as to their ethnicity, gender, age, affluence or fashion sense.
And Luke gives is a wonderful illustration of that in our reading today.
In amongst all those terribly tricky names in the Gospel reading the bit I like the most is the beautifully delivered line right in the middle….
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
Herod tetrarch of Galilee,
his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis,
and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene –
during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
He’s basically saying ‘in a time when all these amazingly powerful and influential men were lauding it over their respective kingdoms….God chose a relative nobody to be His prophet and announce the coming Messiah.
I think that’s pretty wonderful, don’t you.
So here’s another question…..are all the prophets reserved for bible times? Are prophets a thing of the past or, perhaps are there any prophets around today?
Perhaps to better answer that we need to think a bit more about when a prophet might be needed.
Prophets seem to pop up at pretty much any moment. Sometimes it’s in times of hostility and struggle, like in the case of Jeremiah or Elijah. Others seem to enjoy relative peace. But they each speak of the truths of God. You might have heard me use that term before: ‘The truths of God.’
I find that a helpful phrase for when things get a bit confusing a muddled in my head.
Basically what it means is ‘What do we know to be true about God’s message...all the time?’ When life is hard or challenging or we’re facing something unimaginably big, what can I hold onto from God that I know won’t change.
So things like
Love,
Mercy
Justice
Repentance
Forgiveness
Grace.
These things don’t ever change and these are the kinds of messages that prophets convey, each in their own unique and specific contexts.
Prophets call us to change our behaviour when we’ve gone astray.
Prophets remind us to follow God when other noisy and shiny things threaten to steal our attention.
Prophets nudge us to choose to love when it’s much more tempting to respond with a snarky comment or an act of personal retribution.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure that God has stopped using prophets today. Perhaps it’s just that prophets don’t look like we expect them to.
Think about our society today. Who is it that is campaigning for greater love, kindness, equality and fairness amongst our people?
It's possible that prophets today aren’t so much defined by their job title (leaders and politicians, our bishops and priests etc), but people working in ways which seem to be distinctive and surprising. Those who seem to stand out, those swimming against the current, those daring to speak up when others are silent?
Who knows…..maybe we’ll look back in a few decades and think….
Gosh wasn’t that Swedish woman who kept pestering us to do more to tackle climate change really on to something.
Or hey wasn’t that guy who went on hunger strike to try and get his wife released from an Iranian prison really using actions as well as words.
Or who knows...perhaps even that young, black, working class footballer who decided that it wasn’t just the politicians who should have a say in what happens to the hungry children in our country. He was a real shining light in our world.
Whatever a prophet might have looked like in the past, or indeed might look like in the future, one thing I know is that God has always and will always use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. People like you and me might just find themselves speaking the words of God into a hopeless situation.
Perhaps there’s a prophet inside all of us. Just as God used John to point towards Christ, perhaps God is just waiting to use you in the same way.
Who knows….it’s exciting isn’t it! Let’s embrace it if it comes!
Amen.
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