2025 08 17 Sermon
Jeremiah 23:23-29; Hebrews 11:29—12:2; Luke 12:49-56
Jeremiah talks about prophets. The author of Hebrews talks
about witnesses. Jesus talks about households and hypocrites and fire. It sure
seems like the world is on fire with anger for many reasons. I read a wide
variety of material, and watch a variety of programs on TV. I realize the world
has been on fire for at least 2,000 years.
My recent list of books includes The Mistress of Rome, by Kate Quinn, and the Secret Midwife, by Soraya Layne. The Mistress of Rome takes place during the reign of Domitian, Caesar of Rome, at the end of the first century. The lead character, Thea, is a beautiful woman who is enslaved, sold eventually to Domitian who is a great administrator, a lover of gladiator battles, and a violent abuser of women.
The Secret Midwife is a Jewish woman named Emilia living in Poland in during World War II. She delivers Jewish babies and then sends the infants to safety out of the country. Until she is arrested and sent to Auschwitz Concentration Camp where she delivers babies, prevents pregnancies, and keeps infants alive.
And this from last month’s Christian Century article on the conditions at the southern border. “Whether we acknowledge it or not, the American dream is built on the nightmares that workers in our fields, factories, and restaurants endure every day. The true purpose of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants is not to send workers away, cutting into the profits of business owners, but to keep them just where they are: underpaid, overworked, unrepresented by unions, and living in constant fear of immigration authorities and self-appointed vigilantes.”
The truth of these writings makes me angry, lights a fire inside
me. Injustice like this shouldn’t still be happening, especially by people who
at the same time profess to being Christian.
… Fortunately, I am also reading The Tears of Things, by Richard Rohr. I consider it a God-incidence that I picked up this book just when I needed it. Rohr writes about the ancient prophets’ lives and messages. The part that I needed to read talked about Jonah. In the few chapters we have, we encounter an angry man, sent by God to tell his neighboring king that God says he is doing it wrong. Jonah never outgrows his early anger.
Other prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah serve as prophets
long enough to evolve. They go from yelling and acting out their anger (where
Jonah is), to deep lamentation about the conditions and circumstances they live
in. From lamentation, they move into the understanding that God is ultimately
in charge, so they can let go of their anger and their sadness. From this new point
of view, such prophets can seek to share God’s news calmly with those who need to hear it, and allow
God to be in charge of the situation.
program, members of the team go into communities around the country to focus on improving the lives of young people. In Chicago, they helped clean up an empty lot and make it a into park where residents could enjoy the outdoors. In New Orleans, they had some fun with a youth drum line.
… These stories help balance the anger at so much injustice with
hope for the future. The women religious and the Harlem Globetrotters are
witnesses to God’s goodness. They demonstrate that God is at work in the world,
even when we are in despair of things ever calming down.
It is important to know in general terms what is happening
in the world, but it is not necessary to watch the TV news or follow news feeds
all day. And it’s important to balance the bad news with good news, with music
and comedy and uplifting stories. It’s important to find witnesses to God’s work
in the world, in our communities, and in our lives.
It takes prayer and practice to be aware of goodness when we feel surrounded by so much that is not good. I don’t mean prayer when we take our list of people and situations for God to fix. I mean prayer when we sit in silence and wait for God to speak to us. When we learn to let God speak first, we are more observant of the world and people around us.
When we listen for God, we notice the person with her bags
in the park, and we offer her our sandwich. We talk with the school leaders and
provide what teachers and students need through the year. We notice the person
who seems to have no friends.
We are prophets when we campaign for safe highways and local
crosswalks. We are prophets when we write letters and send emails to
legislators about issues we are concerned about.
And
we don’t do these things alone; we do them with others so we join the cloud of
witnesses to the goodness of God shown to us by Jesus. I wonder how you will be
a witness and a prophet this week. Amen
