Love Means Speaking The Truth
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series I, Cycle C
"When Christ calls a man, he bids that man to come and die." These words were written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a well-known Lutheran pastor and theologian, in a book influential to many, The Cost of Discipleship, first published in 1937. Bonhoeffer lived his Christian call to holiness and spoke the truth; he did so without counting the cost. He did what God asked of him without qualification, reservation, or question. He did not look over his shoulder and wonder why, but rather, lived what he wrote. His life of discipleship and words of truth cost him his life.
Bonhoeffer was born in the state of Prussia in 1906. He grew up in an academic environment near the University of Berlin where his father was a professor of neurology and psychiatry. Later in his own study of theology he became interested in the historical-critical method of Adolph von Harnack and was a disciple of Swiss theologian Karl Barth who promoted the new "theology of revelation." After completing his doctorate, Bonhoeffer spent 1931 at New York's Union Theological Seminary in a post-doctorate fellowship and exchange program. Returning to Germany he resumed duties which he had earlier begun as a pastor and writer.
In 1933, however, things changed for Bonhoeffer, the German people, and ultimately the world, with the rise of the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer was one of the first and certainly the most vocal opponent of the Nazi ideology of anti-Semitism. He knew the truth of the Nazi's plan and he refused to keep quiet. Between 1935-1940 he headed an underground seminary for Germany's "Confessing Church," (even though it was proscribed in 1937) which led the German-Protestant resistance to Hitler. He was able to continue his work as pastor and theologian in the early war years under cover as a member of the military intelligence community. Bonhoeffer believed that the root evil for many of society's problems was a lax attitude toward morality which he said was fostered by the ready distribution of "cheap grace" to members of the Church. He was an ecumenist and promoted this belief in his speeches and writings.
In April 1943 Bonhoeffer, as a result of his books, essays, and talks that challenged the Nazi regime, was arrested for insurrection. He was ordered to be imprisoned, but this only strengthened his beliefs. It was at this time that he wrote his most famous work, Prisoner of God: Letters and Papers from Prison. Implicated in the failed July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, Bonhoeffer was transferred to a concentration camp in Flossenburg, Bavaria, where on April 9, 1945, only days before the Allied liberation of the facility, he was executed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer died for the Christian beliefs which formed his life; he was a martyr who never counted the cost.
Christianity is a commitment that requires us as disciples to speak the truth and not count the cost. If we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear, we can recognize the truth as articulated by prophets in our midst today. When we hear the word prophet what images and names come to mind? Possibly some think of great evangelists, such as Sinclair Lewis' protagonist Elmer Gantry, who stand on street corners with the Bible in hand and preach hellfire and damnation to those who refuse to reform their lives. Others may think of the door-to-door sale of religion. Some may not agree with the theological perspective of many of these groups, but we certainly must respect the courage and zeal manifest in their efforts to proselytize. The names of prophets that come to mind are familiar to all: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or possibly one of the so-called minor prophets -- Amos, Zephaniah, or Jonah. What is a prophet? A prophet is one with the rare privilege to speak God's word with great authority. But the privilege of the prophetic voice incurs significant responsibility as well.
Scripture describes the office and mission of the prophet in Hebrew society. Moses, the great liberator of the Israelites and their first prophet, heard the cries of the people for a representative to speak God's word: "The Lord your God will raise up for you prophets like me from among your own people; you shall heed such prophets" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Prophets are tasked to speak the truth, that is God's word, and to do so fearlessly. They speak with authority, proclaiming God's word as it is revealed to them, but they do so knowing of the responsibility that comes with their office: "Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak -- that prophet shall die" (Deuteronomy 18:19-20).
Amos, from whom we hear this morning, prophesied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Like Bonhoeffer and many other prophets, past and present, Amos did not want the job. As he says, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' " Amos did as the Lord commanded, even though it was difficult; he spoke the truth to a hostile group of people. He may have doubted his ability, but he did not question the authority of God's call nor its reality. His message was strong and forthright, telling King Jeroboam that his reign will end with the sword and predicting that the Northern Kingdom of Israel will be lost. Amos must have been afraid to proclaim such a hard message, but he had the courage which only God can give and, therefore, fearlessly stated what needed to be said. Dietrich Bonhoeffer followed in the line of Amos and proclaimed a hard message to the Nazi elite, but it was a missive they needed to hear.
Jesus was the preeminent prophet for as the Son of God. He spoke from personal knowledge of the Father. The Gospel evangelists describe Jesus' teaching and how the people were spellbound by what they heard. Jesus' teaching was new and different; it was authoritative (Mark 1:21-22). Jesus' message was challenging, yet he proclaimed it, as Saint Paul suggests, when it was convenient and inconvenient (2 Timothy 4:2). He was courageous because he spoke God's word not when it seemed to be acceptable or appropriate in the ears of the hearers or when he would receive a favorable hearing. Rather, often Jesus' message raised conflict; it shook people up. Jesus' message was challenging to the people's sensibilities because their zone of comfortableness was rocked severely. Some heeded Jesus' message and became his followers. Others disregarded or were indifferent to the message and others still were violently opposed to what they heard and orchestrated his death.
Amos was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament who proclaimed the truth of God's word as it was presented to him. He spoke with authority and did what God asked of him, but Jesus was the preeminent prophet because he knew the Father. Lest, however, we think that prophecy ended with Jesus, we can look at people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oscar Romero, the assassinated Archbishop of San Salvador, or the retired Anglican archbishop of South Africa, Desmond Tutu, to see that contemporary prophets are in our midst. In the church there are courageous people who today challenge us and serve as prophets. Some speak out on behalf of the mentally and physically challenged and others proclaim the rights of the elderly. Some are advocates for the rights of prisoners and others speak for the poor, the homeless, the destitute, and those who have little or no voice in our society. Are we listening to these voices, or is the message we hear too harsh or do we feel it is not applicable to us? Do we listen and accept reality when people speak the truth, or do we cover our ears and run from the message because it is too challenging?
There are many others in our contemporary society who speak the truth as prophets and, as a means of responding in love to God's call, probably don't even realize it. Parents have been given special authority by God to proclaim the Lord's word in speech and action to their children and, thus, serve as prophets. Mothers and fathers must take responsibility in proclaiming God's word, whether it is a word of discipline, praise, or love to their children. Parents perform a prophetic role by steering their children along the correct path of life. This task is often quite difficult, especially when it is necessary to guide children away from things they enjoy or people they consider their friends. God's word is proclaimed so that people can fulfill their potential, using wisely and completely the gifts God has given them. Parents may, therefore, have to practice tough love in their words and actions, but we must remember that the scriptures are filled with examples of how God, in the words of the prophets, excoriated the Hebrews in an effort to bring them to the correct road. Similarly, Jesus, chastised many in his day in an effort to get them on the right road. Parents also serve as prophets when they provide advice and encouragement when their children make the fundamental decisions in life -- where to go to school or to live, what occupation or career to choose, whether one should marry. The prophetic role of parents should never be underestimated.
Teachers, coaches, and mentors also have the rare privilege and the significant responsibility to act as prophets through the instruction, encouragement, guidance, and admonition they give to those placed in their charge. All of us have experienced the benefit of well-trained, disciplined, and encouraging teachers and coaches. Teachers proclaim God's word and, thus, serve as prophets by sharing the knowledge they have with inquisitive minds in a way that is inviting and engaging. Many people find their life's work through the positive influence of some great teacher in their youth. Coaches are prophets by the challenge they present to work harder, be competitive, play fair, learn teamwork, and above all win and lose with grace and class.
Ministers, priests, and other parish leaders have a special call to echo God's word and exercise the role of prophet. These people, possibly to a greater extent than most, have the opportunity to walk with people in the highs and lows, the agonies and ecstasies of life. These ministers to God's people have a rare privilege to bring God's word in a very concrete way to all who hunger for God in their lives. Whether it is preaching, teaching, counseling, listening, or being an advocate, those in public ministry are charged to bring God's word to the situation at hand. Like parents, teachers, and coaches, pastors, priests, religious, and parish leaders will often find the proclamation of God's word to be difficult, but true prophets, people like Bonhoeffer, Amos, and Jesus of Nazareth, were not concerned with difficulty; they fulfilled the Lord's commission to echo his words and manifest his actions in their lives.
All under the tutelage of parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors must listen to the voice of God that comes to them from these contemporary prophets. I suspect most people would agree, after some reflection, that many of the greatest lessons in life have been gained when a prophetic voice spoke God's word to us. It might have been a gentle reminder of something that needs attention, the encouragement never to give up, or a significant challenge to correct something that is askew or out of balance in our lives. The well-lived Christian life is filled with challenges and we must not shy from them. Rather we must meet the challenges and obstacles head on, negotiate over them, and continue moving forward despite the difficulty and pain.
Contemporary prophets who respond in love to God's call abound in our society. Some may be archbishops, some may be pastors, but most are everyday people we know, love, and encounter. Let us, therefore, consider our call to speak God's word; let us be prophets. May we be Christ to one another today and to eternal life.
Bonhoeffer was born in the state of Prussia in 1906. He grew up in an academic environment near the University of Berlin where his father was a professor of neurology and psychiatry. Later in his own study of theology he became interested in the historical-critical method of Adolph von Harnack and was a disciple of Swiss theologian Karl Barth who promoted the new "theology of revelation." After completing his doctorate, Bonhoeffer spent 1931 at New York's Union Theological Seminary in a post-doctorate fellowship and exchange program. Returning to Germany he resumed duties which he had earlier begun as a pastor and writer.
In 1933, however, things changed for Bonhoeffer, the German people, and ultimately the world, with the rise of the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer was one of the first and certainly the most vocal opponent of the Nazi ideology of anti-Semitism. He knew the truth of the Nazi's plan and he refused to keep quiet. Between 1935-1940 he headed an underground seminary for Germany's "Confessing Church," (even though it was proscribed in 1937) which led the German-Protestant resistance to Hitler. He was able to continue his work as pastor and theologian in the early war years under cover as a member of the military intelligence community. Bonhoeffer believed that the root evil for many of society's problems was a lax attitude toward morality which he said was fostered by the ready distribution of "cheap grace" to members of the Church. He was an ecumenist and promoted this belief in his speeches and writings.
In April 1943 Bonhoeffer, as a result of his books, essays, and talks that challenged the Nazi regime, was arrested for insurrection. He was ordered to be imprisoned, but this only strengthened his beliefs. It was at this time that he wrote his most famous work, Prisoner of God: Letters and Papers from Prison. Implicated in the failed July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, Bonhoeffer was transferred to a concentration camp in Flossenburg, Bavaria, where on April 9, 1945, only days before the Allied liberation of the facility, he was executed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer died for the Christian beliefs which formed his life; he was a martyr who never counted the cost.
Christianity is a commitment that requires us as disciples to speak the truth and not count the cost. If we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear, we can recognize the truth as articulated by prophets in our midst today. When we hear the word prophet what images and names come to mind? Possibly some think of great evangelists, such as Sinclair Lewis' protagonist Elmer Gantry, who stand on street corners with the Bible in hand and preach hellfire and damnation to those who refuse to reform their lives. Others may think of the door-to-door sale of religion. Some may not agree with the theological perspective of many of these groups, but we certainly must respect the courage and zeal manifest in their efforts to proselytize. The names of prophets that come to mind are familiar to all: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or possibly one of the so-called minor prophets -- Amos, Zephaniah, or Jonah. What is a prophet? A prophet is one with the rare privilege to speak God's word with great authority. But the privilege of the prophetic voice incurs significant responsibility as well.
Scripture describes the office and mission of the prophet in Hebrew society. Moses, the great liberator of the Israelites and their first prophet, heard the cries of the people for a representative to speak God's word: "The Lord your God will raise up for you prophets like me from among your own people; you shall heed such prophets" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Prophets are tasked to speak the truth, that is God's word, and to do so fearlessly. They speak with authority, proclaiming God's word as it is revealed to them, but they do so knowing of the responsibility that comes with their office: "Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak -- that prophet shall die" (Deuteronomy 18:19-20).
Amos, from whom we hear this morning, prophesied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Like Bonhoeffer and many other prophets, past and present, Amos did not want the job. As he says, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' " Amos did as the Lord commanded, even though it was difficult; he spoke the truth to a hostile group of people. He may have doubted his ability, but he did not question the authority of God's call nor its reality. His message was strong and forthright, telling King Jeroboam that his reign will end with the sword and predicting that the Northern Kingdom of Israel will be lost. Amos must have been afraid to proclaim such a hard message, but he had the courage which only God can give and, therefore, fearlessly stated what needed to be said. Dietrich Bonhoeffer followed in the line of Amos and proclaimed a hard message to the Nazi elite, but it was a missive they needed to hear.
Jesus was the preeminent prophet for as the Son of God. He spoke from personal knowledge of the Father. The Gospel evangelists describe Jesus' teaching and how the people were spellbound by what they heard. Jesus' teaching was new and different; it was authoritative (Mark 1:21-22). Jesus' message was challenging, yet he proclaimed it, as Saint Paul suggests, when it was convenient and inconvenient (2 Timothy 4:2). He was courageous because he spoke God's word not when it seemed to be acceptable or appropriate in the ears of the hearers or when he would receive a favorable hearing. Rather, often Jesus' message raised conflict; it shook people up. Jesus' message was challenging to the people's sensibilities because their zone of comfortableness was rocked severely. Some heeded Jesus' message and became his followers. Others disregarded or were indifferent to the message and others still were violently opposed to what they heard and orchestrated his death.
Amos was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament who proclaimed the truth of God's word as it was presented to him. He spoke with authority and did what God asked of him, but Jesus was the preeminent prophet because he knew the Father. Lest, however, we think that prophecy ended with Jesus, we can look at people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oscar Romero, the assassinated Archbishop of San Salvador, or the retired Anglican archbishop of South Africa, Desmond Tutu, to see that contemporary prophets are in our midst. In the church there are courageous people who today challenge us and serve as prophets. Some speak out on behalf of the mentally and physically challenged and others proclaim the rights of the elderly. Some are advocates for the rights of prisoners and others speak for the poor, the homeless, the destitute, and those who have little or no voice in our society. Are we listening to these voices, or is the message we hear too harsh or do we feel it is not applicable to us? Do we listen and accept reality when people speak the truth, or do we cover our ears and run from the message because it is too challenging?
There are many others in our contemporary society who speak the truth as prophets and, as a means of responding in love to God's call, probably don't even realize it. Parents have been given special authority by God to proclaim the Lord's word in speech and action to their children and, thus, serve as prophets. Mothers and fathers must take responsibility in proclaiming God's word, whether it is a word of discipline, praise, or love to their children. Parents perform a prophetic role by steering their children along the correct path of life. This task is often quite difficult, especially when it is necessary to guide children away from things they enjoy or people they consider their friends. God's word is proclaimed so that people can fulfill their potential, using wisely and completely the gifts God has given them. Parents may, therefore, have to practice tough love in their words and actions, but we must remember that the scriptures are filled with examples of how God, in the words of the prophets, excoriated the Hebrews in an effort to bring them to the correct road. Similarly, Jesus, chastised many in his day in an effort to get them on the right road. Parents also serve as prophets when they provide advice and encouragement when their children make the fundamental decisions in life -- where to go to school or to live, what occupation or career to choose, whether one should marry. The prophetic role of parents should never be underestimated.
Teachers, coaches, and mentors also have the rare privilege and the significant responsibility to act as prophets through the instruction, encouragement, guidance, and admonition they give to those placed in their charge. All of us have experienced the benefit of well-trained, disciplined, and encouraging teachers and coaches. Teachers proclaim God's word and, thus, serve as prophets by sharing the knowledge they have with inquisitive minds in a way that is inviting and engaging. Many people find their life's work through the positive influence of some great teacher in their youth. Coaches are prophets by the challenge they present to work harder, be competitive, play fair, learn teamwork, and above all win and lose with grace and class.
Ministers, priests, and other parish leaders have a special call to echo God's word and exercise the role of prophet. These people, possibly to a greater extent than most, have the opportunity to walk with people in the highs and lows, the agonies and ecstasies of life. These ministers to God's people have a rare privilege to bring God's word in a very concrete way to all who hunger for God in their lives. Whether it is preaching, teaching, counseling, listening, or being an advocate, those in public ministry are charged to bring God's word to the situation at hand. Like parents, teachers, and coaches, pastors, priests, religious, and parish leaders will often find the proclamation of God's word to be difficult, but true prophets, people like Bonhoeffer, Amos, and Jesus of Nazareth, were not concerned with difficulty; they fulfilled the Lord's commission to echo his words and manifest his actions in their lives.
All under the tutelage of parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors must listen to the voice of God that comes to them from these contemporary prophets. I suspect most people would agree, after some reflection, that many of the greatest lessons in life have been gained when a prophetic voice spoke God's word to us. It might have been a gentle reminder of something that needs attention, the encouragement never to give up, or a significant challenge to correct something that is askew or out of balance in our lives. The well-lived Christian life is filled with challenges and we must not shy from them. Rather we must meet the challenges and obstacles head on, negotiate over them, and continue moving forward despite the difficulty and pain.
Contemporary prophets who respond in love to God's call abound in our society. Some may be archbishops, some may be pastors, but most are everyday people we know, love, and encounter. Let us, therefore, consider our call to speak God's word; let us be prophets. May we be Christ to one another today and to eternal life.
