This is the text of my Thought for the Days.
Mon 29th – This week, in the run up to the 2nd Sunday of Advent, lets look at the Prophets. Yesterday was Advent 1: O Come o come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, – wonderful advent hymn. So last week I talked about the Patriarchs and Matriarchs – Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah and Rachel. This week, it’s the 2nd candle of the advent wreath, symbolizing the Prophets.
The main prophet over Christmas is Isaiah. He always gets a look in when we come to the Carol service (19th, 6pm in st Leonards, no you don’t need to book)
The Isaiah reading is either ch7 the prophecy about how a virgin will conceive – and his name will be Immanuel. And that name literally means “God with us”.
I always like hearing those clever scholars who remind us that the actual word here is not virgin but rather Young Woman – and so on a technicality suggest that the prophecy need not refer to a virgin, But then you listen to someone from a different from a different culture – I don’t know like the 1950s and they will quickly tell you that even in the 1950s those two words would be presumed to be synonymous. The other prophecy that often makes Christmas is Isaiah 9 – the people walking in darkness have seen a great light – we love this because it resonates so nicely with John’s Gospel – the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not over come it.
For unto us a child is born – and now you’re humming handel’s messiah, you just can’t help yourself – For unto us a son is given, and the government shall be shall be upon on on his shoulders. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace.
Ok so just reading this I’m getting chills. They’re multiplying. 600 years before Jesus is born Isaiah is speaking hope to a people without hope. And that’s what prophets do well, they speak Hope, they remind us that God has not forgotten us, that God is with us even if it is in the midst of a terrible hell – and that’s the context of Isaiah – the Jews were going through a torrid time, but Isaiah prophecies good news, you’re not forgotten, hold on, here is hope.
It might be that you’re in need of a fresh injection of hope today, May you find hope in the words of Isaiah, in the promise that you’re not forgotten, that God is with you, and we have found that to be true, in Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. Amen.
Tues 30) – Happy St Andrew’s day to you, esp if you are Scottish, esp if you’re called Andrew. Happy St Andrew. Last Sunday was Advent 1, this coming Sunday Advent 2 – we light the 2nd candle on the advent wreath and we remember the prophets that gave hope. We use the word Prophesy quite loosely, we use it to mean Someone who can tell us what is going to happen, however mystically and aloofly. But prophets in the bible almost never do that. Very often what we find is that they speak what’s on God’s heart. Miriam, Moses’ sister, she was a prophet, all we really have from her is a moment where she sings a song of joy as the 12 tribes of Israel are delivered from oppression in ancient Egypt, walk through the Red Sea, and begin their 40 year journey through the wilderness to the promised land.
Deborah was a prophet, she was married to Lappidoth, and her job as prophet was not merely to speak hope but to Lead, she was the Go to person in the time before there was a king, before there was any sort of justice system. Barak is in charge of the army and they don’t know what to do about an invading army led by Sisera. Deborah says Go, go fight. And gives him the hope, the reminder, the promise, that the Lord has gone ahead of you – But Barak is afraid of risk, of losing, and so Deborah goes with him but she prophecies that Sisera will die by the hands of a woman. The battle goes badly for Sisera, he escapes, and hides in a tent and a woman, Jael, she drives a tent peg through his head.
I remember last year, I asked if anyone could think of a woman prophet in the bible and it was Wendy who heckled what about Huldah. And I didn’t remember Huldah. You can read about her in 2 Kings 22 or 2 Chro 34 – she speaks to a king at a time when everything is falling apart, disaster and famine, and Huldah preaches hope to those who can see it, to those who repent and pray not only for their lives but for the lives of the nation, because the overarching question is – Is it too late? Is it too late to save this nation, these people? Have they so very much made their bed and now must lie in it, Have they so forgotten God and stubbornly persistently gone without His help for so long that now they must live with the consequences of being beyond the protection of God? Huldah preaches hope. Its not a lot of hope.
I’ve not mentioned in the NT, Philip one of the 7 Deacons, we read how he had 4 unmarried daughters who all prophesied. Alas we don’t know what they said.
Today’s point is that being a prophet isn’t always a boy’s job, there’s women in the bible who were prophets. And its also the reminder that prophets don’t usually predict what’s going to happen, instead they speak what’s on God’s heart – and that might be a word of Challenge, or it might be a song of Hope. May you today through what you say to others speak Hope.
Wed 1 – Jeremiah is my favourite prophet, he’s sort of the Eeyore of the bible. This week we are looking at some of the prophets of the bible in the run up to Advent 2, lighting the 2nd candle on the Advent wreath.
I like Jeremiah because from an early stage God tells him not to let people look down on him because he’s so young. Its been a while since I had to worry about that. I like Jeremiah because he finds himself burning up with passion and anxiety about his society, he speaks about people’s shallow attitudes to worship, to treating each other, – we only have two jobs to do – Love the Lord your God and love your neighbour – and Jeremiah sees that we’re not doing either of them very well.
But, curiously, its an unpopular message and so he gets literally beaten up again and again, he suffers violence at the hands of his listeners. And he takes that pain and instead of seeking revenge, he takes that pain out on God, Why are you doing this to me? Why do I have this message welling up in my heart but when I speak it out no one thanks me for it.
He is living in Jerusalem when about 586bc the city is surrounded by the Babylonian army and God tells Jeremiah to advise the king to surrender. If they surrender then there’s hope – but the King refuses to. Eventually this leads to a siege, to death, to the destruction of Jerusalem, to enslavement for most, and a tiny vassal state is left.
Jeremiah was right. He hates himself for it. Why couldn’t he be a prophet during nice fluffy times and prophecy nice things. So his message changes from that of judgement and despair to that of hope. God will bring his people back to this place, God will his law in our hearts – and we’ve come to see this as fulfilled in Pentecost. And throughout we have this refrain, this promise – I will be there God and they will be my people. God persists. He wont let go.
Now the people of God say to Jeremiah – okay you were right, what shall we do? And Jeremiah says Wow No one’s ever asked me that before. Okay we should stay here and not run away to Egypt (option 2). And the people say Nah, we’re going to Egypt. Even though God said Don’t do that, if you do that lots of you will die, stay here. Now here’s my fav bit. Jeremiah goes with them. Ch42 ff. It makes me cry every time I read it. It’s a reminder that even when we make bad decisions, that God persists with us, and God comes with us. It might be that you’re in a mess, it might be because you know you made some bad choices, but Jeremiah tells us that God continues to love you, continues to persist in calling you, and goes with you even into the chaos that you’re choosing. I love this about God. He persists with us. May you find that God persists with you today.
Thurs 2nd – EZEKIEL How do you cope on those days when you wake up and just feel as if everything is wrong, as if God has utterly failed you, that life’s dreams and hopes are utterly wasted? You might expect me to be talking about Jeremiah again but no, today we look at Ezekiel. If Jeremiah is the Eeyore of the bible then Ezekiel is the Tigger. Please don’t ask me which prophet might be Piglet.
Ezekiel was living at the same time as Jeremiah but instead of being in Jerusalem, he has been taken off into captivity, off to Babylon. Here would be a good setting for that Psalm 137 – by the rivers of Babylon where we sat down, yeah we wept when we remembered zion –
Ezekiel finds himself caught up in this Psalm – the song goes – When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity, Required from us a song,. Now how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
Ezekiel, he’s 30, its his birthday, and he’s gone a little away from the encampment to just stop and think. This day, his 30th birthday, is supposed to be the best day of his life – because he comes from a priestly tribe, so he has spent his life preparing to be a priest, preparing to take his turn, his rota, his shift up at the Temple in Jerusalem and to be a priest for the people of God. He’s spent his life preparing for this moment but now – Jerusalem is in ruins, and he is far far from home and his life is in utter ruins and all his dreams are gone. And God comes to him – in a magnificent divine wheel chair – and Ezekiel sees the Almightyness of God, that God is not just the God of little Israel, little Jerusalem, but the throne of God can move, God can be with His people even when His people have been taken away into slavery.
From this vision Ezekiel gets a new calling to be a prophet not to be a priest and so he proceeds to act out, rather than speak out, in absurd dramas what is on God’s heart. And through it all he brings Hope to a people who feel that God is far from them. The promise is that God is with you even in the midst of this horror, that God will be like a shepherd to a scattered flock and he will search for every sheep and look after each of his sheep and rescue them and bring them home. (34) and we have this beautiful promise that God will He will give us a new heart, remove our hearts of stone. And will put His Holy Spirit into us and help us to follow Him,
May you remember that you’re not forgotten by God, that God is calling you, that God is with you and promises to pour His Spirit into you afresh this day.
Ps 19 Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart
Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight
Friday Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, Hosea Micah 5 – Bethlehem
This Sunday Advent 2 we get to light the 2nd of the Advent Candles which symbolizes – the Prophets! We’ve looked at Isaiah, Deborah, Huldah, Philip’s Daughters, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. And there’s so many more – Samuel Nathan Gad, Elijah Elisha, – and then there’s the ones with books – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadaiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zecharaiah, Malachi. Can you think of anyone I’ve left out?
My point being is that it seems to me that God is pretty keen on speaking to us but we’re not so keen on hearing. God speaks to us through particular people and prophets, but God also speaks to us through His bible, through His Church as we come together to discuss what we together think that God is calling us to, God speaks to us in worship as we get lost in wonder love and praise, God speaks to us through nature and the glories and wonders of it all, through science and the intricacies and miracles that medicine can now accomplish some things unthinkable even a decade ago – God speaks to us.
God speaks to us in the pain and sorrow – in the news and the anger you find stirred up in you – CS Lewis talked of pain being God’s megaphone to the world – a sort of wake up call – so much pain goes by and we do not notice, but I think that where we do notice it that maybe God is calling us to do something about it to pray to give money to give time, to get involved.
Garrison Keillor who wrote the Lake Woebegon stories – says if God ever asks you to be a prophet you should say No. People do not tend to be nice to prophets. At best they get vilified, at worst they are sawn in two, no one ever thanks you for being a prophet.
But I think that the starting place is to listen. To listen to God, to society, to the pain and the hope of the ignored and the marginalized and to be a voice for those who have no voice and to be an answer to the prayer of the forgotten. I think that’s a good way to start to be a prophet.
Oh yes and there’s Moses. He was a prophet. Heres the thing – if you’re going to have a go at being a prophet – whether you’re going to be a prophet in the Church or on Facebook – make sure that you THINK about what you’re saying – is it True, is it Helpful, is it Inspiring, is it Necessary, is it Kind – the
Interesting and helpful thoughts