St. Paul’s United
Church Sunday, July 5th
2009
The
Truth of Prophets – Rev. David Mundy
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 Mark
6:1-13
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have an excellent doctor. He is actually very good when it
comes to my health but even more importantly, the magazines in the waiting room
are always up-to-date. I had an appointment with him a couple of weeks ago so
it gave me a chance to catch up on Reader’s Digest – it’s the only time
I read it!
The June issue included a poll
conducted by the independent research firm Harris/Decima
about the public figures who are the most trusted Canadians. Do you want to
hazard a guess as to the Canadian we trust most? It is none other than the
environmentalist David Suzuki. Suzuki polled more first-place votes than the
second and third place figures combined, those being Queen Elizabeth and
retired General Rick Hillier. I should add that also in the top fifty was hockey
commentator Don Cherry (yikes!) but that there was no sign of any religious
figure.
According to Reader’s Digest, when Suzuki was asked about placing first
he admitted “I am flabbergasted. It is an enormous responsibility to live up
to that trust. It is a tribute to the integrity of The Nature of Things and
the CBC, which has stuck by me when there were calls for my head when we did
shows on logging, economics, mega-dams, etc.”
You may be aware that David Suzuki is not a religious man,
although he had taken a deepening interest in Native spirituality these latter
years. Just the same, some have derisively labelled him “Saint Suzuki” while
others have called him a modern-day prophet.
What do people mean when they describe someone as a prophet?
In the bible the prophets were the individuals who challenged the “status quo”
even when their audiences didn’t want to listen. God would call them to be
spokespersons but that didn’t mean they wanted the job. In fact they often
turned around and headed in the opposite direction. The story of Jonah has him
trying to escape by boat and ending up in the belly of a big fish. Moses
pointed out to God that he had a speech impediment and Isaiah tried to persuade
God that he was too just too young for the task. One of the few people who was ready and willing to serve God was a woman named
Deborah, who showed uncommon courage.
All of the biblical prophets were truth-tellers, even if they
were often reluctant to be in that role.
Now for their trouble they were often roughed up or run out of
town by the listeners, which was probably why they didn’t want the job in the
first place!
This morning we listened to a passage of scripture in which
Jesus seems to be describing himself as a prophet, although at that point in
his life the only person who might see him that way is Jesus. When we read in
Mark’s gospel, we discover that Jesus has had a fairly impressive impact away
from his hometown, healing the sick and teaching in a way that sounded fresh
and powerful to the crowds who paid attention to him. But when he came home to
Nazareth the response wasn’t so positive.
According to what we heard, some people thought Jesus was
really wise, and were impressed by what are described as his “deeds of power.”
But others were “underwhelmed” by Jesus, commenting that he is just a carpenter’s
kid, so who does he think he is? The passage even tells us that some were
offended by what Jesus was doing and saying. As with most of the prophets, when
Jesus speaks the truth it hurts, or at least makes people uncomfortable.
This makes sense doesn’t it? We often speak of Jesus as
teacher and healer. We say too, that he both Saviour and friend. But how did he
outrage religious leaders, and why was he executed by the Roman empire? It wasn’t
because he was a “swell guy” who didn’t make waves. When we see the image of
the cross, it should remind us that one of the reasons Jesus was killed is that
he told God’s truth. You would think that telling the truth is one of the
highest goals of religion, but truth-telling can be risky business.
So, if we follow Jesus, all of us
should want to be like him and to be prophets for our time, shouldn’t we? Well, not so fast. When we speak the
truth we can feel vulnerable as we come up against those who obviously hold power
when we don’t. And whether it is in our workplace, or in our family, or perhaps
in a public forum, standing up for what we believe is true can be really risky
business.
Even those of us in ministry are reluctant to see ourselves in
a prophetic role, particularly in unsettled times for the church. What if we
tell the truth, and the truth doesn’t set us free but
gets us fired. Ministry is always a bit of a popularity contest, especially in
a democratic denomination such as the United Church.
Last year I was in a gathering of half a dozen or so of my
colleagues and we chatted about the challenges of ministry in the turbulent
times of the 21st century. One fellow who is perhaps a decade from
retirement cheerfully admitted that he doesn’t want to make any waves between
now and the end of his ministry. He wants to be a caring and supportive pastor,
but he really doesn’t want to be a prophet – prophets tend to get into lots of
hot water and from the sounds of it he would prefer a more comforting “lukewarm”
for the next while. I should say that this is a decent, amiable soul, a fine
person is every regard. But I recall thinking that maybe being a prophet is not
our choice. God does with us what God chooses if we are willing to listen and
respond.
Through the ages, in every era, people have sought out
prophetic figures because they understood the importance of the voices which
challenge the falsehoods of the time. Some of these figures have themselves
been false prophets, playing on fears and bigotry. Many of them have been
recognized and lauded long after the moment in which they spoke.
We can say that we don’t want the mantle of the prophet but
what happens when religion abdicates that role of truth-telling? The reality is
that even in a secular society such as ours we go out and find the people who
will
The most recent issue of Sojourner’s Christian magazine
puts Jon Stewart of the Daily Show on the cover. The Daily Show is,
a faux news show which satirizes the important events of the day, and
many people choose to watch it rather than the regular news because of its
humour and willingness to criticize conventional thinking and acting. Stewart’s
real name is Jonathan Liebowitz. He grew up Jewish in
New Jersey and he was bullied for being Jewish when he was a kid. So, the
editor of Sojourner’s Jim Wallis begins his interview by comparing him
to the Jewish prophets of old:
The Hebrew prophets
often use humor, satire, and truth-telling to get
their message across, and I feel you do a combination of all three. How
conscious are you of this, and are you trying to make social change happen?
Not surprisingly Stewart says no, no, no, I’m not a prophet,
but he does concede that they are trying to offer a different perspective on
what is happening in the world, so that we aren’t shaped by conventional
thinking. Stewart goes on to say that he has nothing against religion,
especially religion which invites people away from bigotry, and violence and
leads them toward compassion. But his role is to find ways to jab at the “powers
that be” in what is often a clever and playful and piercing attempt to get at
the truth.
So what does that mean for us as everyday Christians who are
trying to be faithful to Jesus who is both prophet and Saviour? After the
service today I want you to all find a cause and march the streets in support
of it! Well, that might not happen, and the good news is that taking up our
cross to follow Jesus doesn’t mean we must literally be crucified. But we can
choose our spots where we can be individuals who uphold justice and honesty in
the worlds we live in.
In the second part of today’s gospel reading we heard that
Jesus realizes he isn’t getting much traction at home, so he sends his
disciples out, two by two, as those who will tell the truth of the gospel to
others. He tells them to travel light and that if people are unwilling to
listen they are not to get stuck. He tells them to `shake the dust from their
feet`` and move on.
There are folk from St. Paul`s who have been courageous and
tenacious in supporting causes that are not always popular or understood, but
they have continued in the power of the Holy Spirit. They might not consider
themselves to be prophets, but they are following Jesus.
I started off my message today by telling you about reading Reader’s
Digest in the doctor’s office. The gospel of Mark is actually a bit like
the Reader’s Digest of the four gospels and most of the stories we read
are short and to the point. In Luke the incident we heard is told in a
different way, and it says that Jesus actually read to the people of the
synagogue from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and this is what he chose:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
This simple reading and Jesus’ claim that he is one to who bring this into being got people so riled up wanted to take
him to the edge of town and throw him off a cliff. We can be grateful that
Jesus told it as he saw it, that he was a truth-full prophet and that through
him God`s reign continues to be made known.