Prophet, Pulpit, Pew and Politics 1
Sermon
THE POWER OF DARKNESS
SERMONS FOR LENT AND EASTER (SUNDAYS IN ORDINARY TIME)
The date is 608 B.C. Good King Josiah is dead. It is the begin-fling of the reign of Jehoikim. He was placed on the throne by the Egyptians. For the people of God it is a time of political uncertainty. Assyria is no more. Egypt is not a friendly ally. The powerful country of Babylonia is beginning to flex her muscles. So for the people of God it is also a time of anxiety. Security seems to be their top priority. The Temple has become very popular. (This is not the first nor the last time that the church has become popular in time of stress.) The attendance percentage is way up! At this time, preaching between the inner and outer courts of the Temple, is the prophet Jeremiah.
The content of Jeremiah's sermon is found in chapter seven of the Old Testament book named for him. It is blunt and hard-hitting. He does not affirm the churchgoers on their faithful attendance, their offerings or their sacrifices. Instead, they hear the ringing - and stinging - words, "Amend your ways and your doings." (7:3) The sermon deals with this central question: What gives people protection and safety? Priests and prophets answered that protection comes through the Temple and its sacrifices. Jeremiah said that genuine protection can only come through moral living. He accused the people of making a "protective charm" out of the Temple. They should not expect that their "religious activity" would cover their irreligious lives. No magic. No holy words. No formulas. The unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Security comes only through transformed living.
Jeremiah was a realist. He not only told his people that times were bad, but that they would get worse! The strength and vitality of Judah were being corroded by self-indulgence and vanity. The Prophet agonized over his country's sickness. But many of the people preferred to listen to spiritual quacks who cried "Peace, peace!" when there was no peace. People put their trust in ritual and religious rigamarole, but that was like so much holy ointment being spread on a malignant cancer. What it did was to encourage a complacent attitude. Truth became a forgotten virtue. People were like "well-fed lusty stallions each neighing for his neighbor's wife." (5:8) They showed little concern for the poor and defenseless victims of society. Blind nationalism was running wild.
This is what the prophet saw when he looked upon his own society. Prophets were not so much future-looking, but they were pretty sharp in reading the "signs of the times." They saw that which people like to forget, the vital connection between righteous conduct and a secure people.
God could get along without the Temple, just as he survived without the sanctuary of the Ark of Shiloh (eighteen miles north of Jerusalem) many years before. In the days of Eli and Samuel that was probably the holiest place in all Israel. Nevertheless, Jeremiah's sermon, predicting the destruction of the Holy Temple, is highly unpopular. It was too negative and too political. And, of course, it was simply unthinkable. God wouldn't let something like that happen to his people. So the sermon aroused great resentment throughout the congregation. So serious was the reaction that even a call to another place would not satisfy. The death sentence is demanded. The trial is held. Jeremiah makes his defense, without retreating an inch. (vv. 12-15) Members of the royal household and other high authorities were impressed by the courage of this preacher. Like the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, centuries later, they found no fault with Jeremiah that was deserving of the death penalty.
In this particular confrontation this prophet comes out the victor. But the tough, bitter times for Jeremiah are immediately ahead. He will have decreased support and will more and more become like that proverbial "voice in the wilderness." His courage and faith did not enable him to escape suffering; rather, it increased it. In his own humanness we see timidity, coupled with depression and the desire to give up, along with cries of pain and vengence. Yet this prophet of God persisted. He continued to challenge the idols of his day, whether they be found in the church or the government. He persisted because he believed the Lord called him to be a prophet.
It is well that the church in her wisdom has linked together this passage from Jeremiah and the gospel lesson from the thirteenth chapter of Saint Luke. Both passages emphasize the importance of prophets and the whole matter of "prophetic preaching." But even beyond this, there are significant similaries between Jeremiah and Jesus. I doubt if there is another Old Testament person who more closely resembles the life of Jesus than Jeremiah. They came from small villages and neither were highly regarded by the home-town folks. They both experienced an intense, personal relationship with God. Their messages were not always positive and affirming. In his day, Jeremiah preached that unless the people of God "ceased their violence against the alien, the fatherless and the widow ... this house shall be forsaken." (Jeremiah 22:3-5) In our gospel, in his lament over the holy city of Jerusalem, Jesus says the same thing: "Behold, your house is forsaken." (v. 35) They had similar historical situations. They confronted the establishment, both religious and political. Both were misunderstood. Both suffered and their earthly lives ended in failure. But, more important for our purposes on this day, both were regarded as prophets.
In our text, the prophet Jesus has to deal with the government. The warning from the Pharisees (which also indicates that not all Pharisees were against Jesus) indicates that Herod Antipas, the King of Galilee, who murdered John the Baptizer, is becoming disturbed about the disturbing presence of Jesus. But like Jeremiah he doesn't back off. The truth needs to be spoken. "Go tell the fox that I am going to do what I have been doing and what I have to do." (v. 32)
There is the story told of Hugh Latimer, an English Reformation martyr, who was preaching in the famous Westminster Abbey, when King Henry was in the congregation. In the pulpit (and having seen the King), the preacher thought to himself, "Latimer! Latimer! Latimer! Be careful what you say. The king of England is here!" Then he went on. "Latimer! Latimer! Latimer! Be careful what you say. The King of kings is here."2
True prophets fear God more than governments or votes of popularity.
Prophets are to be found not only in the pulpit but also in the pew. But they need to be found! This whole issue is one in which congregations should become involved. It's a cop-out to take care of the whole matter by "keeping politics out of the pulpit." We hear that all the church needs to be concerned about is the conversion of sinners. If the problem is drinking, convert the drunk. If the problem is prostitution, convert the woman. (Not much attention is given to the man by the way!) But what about the problem of greed? What about the matter of hate? We who claim to be longtime Christians, are we free from the power of greed and hate? Which do you think is most destructive in our society, drinking or greed? It is in this reality that the church needs to talk about equality, freedom and justice. This is especially true for us who are the comfortable ones. In our sinful nature we tend to go to and understand the Bible in a way that is comforting and affirming of the way we are and the way we live. These idols need to be challenged. There are many, many biblical stories that do this very thing, for much of the Old and New Testament come at us from the perspective of the weak and the small - those people who do not have much going for them except their faith in God.
How can loving our neighbor be anything else than a "social issue"? We may not agree on how neighbors are to be helped. This is a complex and difficult issue. Since we are not wise enough, let us leave it to the experts! I suspect this is one of the most effective tools the devil uses to silence the prophets of our day. My friend, my reading of history reveals there are few "experts." It would seem that most of the "experts" have a greater problem than ignorance and that is the power of self-interest. Of course the office of prophet requires homework. It requires humility. The prophet Reinhold Neibuhr rightly reminded us that there is some "false prophet in all of us."
The English statesman, Oliver Cromwell, in warm debate with some of the religious people of his day, is reported to have said, "I beseech you by the bowels of Christ, consider the possibility that you maybe mistaken." This is a danger, but the greater danger is for Christians to hide behind their imperfections. The strength of our faith is not in being perfect, but in repentance and forgiveness.
Yes, there are risks. Most of us have grown up in an environment that is fearful of confrontations. In the church we have become especially sensitive to "hurting the feelings of others." Here the strong words of William Muehi of Yale need to be heard: "I resent the increasingly common effort to stifle debate on the ground that truth may embarrass those committed to error."
Prophet is a good word and a good office. It belongs to the Jewish-Christian tradition. In that sense it belongs to us. It is a key word for us. We should not let it be lost, or even worse become trivialized. We are in good company. We are in the company of Jeremiah and Jesus.
One thing more: faithful prophets love their people. A faithful prophet in our time, Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "You won't change anybody whom you don't love." There is no question that both Jeremiah and Jesus loved their people. Listen to Jeremiah's anguish and love, revealed in these woe-filled words: "O that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." (9:1) These words ran with those of Jesus in his lament over Jerusalem when he cried, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalum, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold your house is forsaken." (vv. 34-35) In moving words we hear and feel Jesus' strong desire to save. Martin Luther, at a low and discouraging time in his life, preached a great sermon on the imagery of "the mother-hen and her chicks." He said, "When you look at the mother-hen and her chicks you see a picture of Christ and yourself better than any painter could paint ... Behold, this is the loveliest mother-hen ... But what happens? We refuse to be chicks ..."3
Hearing again this lament of love and concern, we can better understand the reaction of those two people who walked with him on the way to Emmaus, calling him "Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people ..." (24:19)
Yes, Jesus is more than a prophet. He is our Redeemer. But the message of redemption is set in the prophetic call to repentance. "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem ..."
Amen
1. Durwood Buchheim, Preaching Helps, "Prophet, Pulpit, Pew and Politics!" (Chicago, Christ Seminary - Seminex).
2. william Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, (Edinburgh, The Saint Andrew Press, 1953), pp. 191-2.
3. Martin Luther, quoted from Luther The Preacher, Fred W. Meuser, (Minneapolis, Augsburg Publishing House, 1983), pp. 62-64.
The content of Jeremiah's sermon is found in chapter seven of the Old Testament book named for him. It is blunt and hard-hitting. He does not affirm the churchgoers on their faithful attendance, their offerings or their sacrifices. Instead, they hear the ringing - and stinging - words, "Amend your ways and your doings." (7:3) The sermon deals with this central question: What gives people protection and safety? Priests and prophets answered that protection comes through the Temple and its sacrifices. Jeremiah said that genuine protection can only come through moral living. He accused the people of making a "protective charm" out of the Temple. They should not expect that their "religious activity" would cover their irreligious lives. No magic. No holy words. No formulas. The unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Security comes only through transformed living.
Jeremiah was a realist. He not only told his people that times were bad, but that they would get worse! The strength and vitality of Judah were being corroded by self-indulgence and vanity. The Prophet agonized over his country's sickness. But many of the people preferred to listen to spiritual quacks who cried "Peace, peace!" when there was no peace. People put their trust in ritual and religious rigamarole, but that was like so much holy ointment being spread on a malignant cancer. What it did was to encourage a complacent attitude. Truth became a forgotten virtue. People were like "well-fed lusty stallions each neighing for his neighbor's wife." (5:8) They showed little concern for the poor and defenseless victims of society. Blind nationalism was running wild.
This is what the prophet saw when he looked upon his own society. Prophets were not so much future-looking, but they were pretty sharp in reading the "signs of the times." They saw that which people like to forget, the vital connection between righteous conduct and a secure people.
God could get along without the Temple, just as he survived without the sanctuary of the Ark of Shiloh (eighteen miles north of Jerusalem) many years before. In the days of Eli and Samuel that was probably the holiest place in all Israel. Nevertheless, Jeremiah's sermon, predicting the destruction of the Holy Temple, is highly unpopular. It was too negative and too political. And, of course, it was simply unthinkable. God wouldn't let something like that happen to his people. So the sermon aroused great resentment throughout the congregation. So serious was the reaction that even a call to another place would not satisfy. The death sentence is demanded. The trial is held. Jeremiah makes his defense, without retreating an inch. (vv. 12-15) Members of the royal household and other high authorities were impressed by the courage of this preacher. Like the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, centuries later, they found no fault with Jeremiah that was deserving of the death penalty.
In this particular confrontation this prophet comes out the victor. But the tough, bitter times for Jeremiah are immediately ahead. He will have decreased support and will more and more become like that proverbial "voice in the wilderness." His courage and faith did not enable him to escape suffering; rather, it increased it. In his own humanness we see timidity, coupled with depression and the desire to give up, along with cries of pain and vengence. Yet this prophet of God persisted. He continued to challenge the idols of his day, whether they be found in the church or the government. He persisted because he believed the Lord called him to be a prophet.
It is well that the church in her wisdom has linked together this passage from Jeremiah and the gospel lesson from the thirteenth chapter of Saint Luke. Both passages emphasize the importance of prophets and the whole matter of "prophetic preaching." But even beyond this, there are significant similaries between Jeremiah and Jesus. I doubt if there is another Old Testament person who more closely resembles the life of Jesus than Jeremiah. They came from small villages and neither were highly regarded by the home-town folks. They both experienced an intense, personal relationship with God. Their messages were not always positive and affirming. In his day, Jeremiah preached that unless the people of God "ceased their violence against the alien, the fatherless and the widow ... this house shall be forsaken." (Jeremiah 22:3-5) In our gospel, in his lament over the holy city of Jerusalem, Jesus says the same thing: "Behold, your house is forsaken." (v. 35) They had similar historical situations. They confronted the establishment, both religious and political. Both were misunderstood. Both suffered and their earthly lives ended in failure. But, more important for our purposes on this day, both were regarded as prophets.
In our text, the prophet Jesus has to deal with the government. The warning from the Pharisees (which also indicates that not all Pharisees were against Jesus) indicates that Herod Antipas, the King of Galilee, who murdered John the Baptizer, is becoming disturbed about the disturbing presence of Jesus. But like Jeremiah he doesn't back off. The truth needs to be spoken. "Go tell the fox that I am going to do what I have been doing and what I have to do." (v. 32)
There is the story told of Hugh Latimer, an English Reformation martyr, who was preaching in the famous Westminster Abbey, when King Henry was in the congregation. In the pulpit (and having seen the King), the preacher thought to himself, "Latimer! Latimer! Latimer! Be careful what you say. The king of England is here!" Then he went on. "Latimer! Latimer! Latimer! Be careful what you say. The King of kings is here."2
True prophets fear God more than governments or votes of popularity.
Prophets are to be found not only in the pulpit but also in the pew. But they need to be found! This whole issue is one in which congregations should become involved. It's a cop-out to take care of the whole matter by "keeping politics out of the pulpit." We hear that all the church needs to be concerned about is the conversion of sinners. If the problem is drinking, convert the drunk. If the problem is prostitution, convert the woman. (Not much attention is given to the man by the way!) But what about the problem of greed? What about the matter of hate? We who claim to be longtime Christians, are we free from the power of greed and hate? Which do you think is most destructive in our society, drinking or greed? It is in this reality that the church needs to talk about equality, freedom and justice. This is especially true for us who are the comfortable ones. In our sinful nature we tend to go to and understand the Bible in a way that is comforting and affirming of the way we are and the way we live. These idols need to be challenged. There are many, many biblical stories that do this very thing, for much of the Old and New Testament come at us from the perspective of the weak and the small - those people who do not have much going for them except their faith in God.
How can loving our neighbor be anything else than a "social issue"? We may not agree on how neighbors are to be helped. This is a complex and difficult issue. Since we are not wise enough, let us leave it to the experts! I suspect this is one of the most effective tools the devil uses to silence the prophets of our day. My friend, my reading of history reveals there are few "experts." It would seem that most of the "experts" have a greater problem than ignorance and that is the power of self-interest. Of course the office of prophet requires homework. It requires humility. The prophet Reinhold Neibuhr rightly reminded us that there is some "false prophet in all of us."
The English statesman, Oliver Cromwell, in warm debate with some of the religious people of his day, is reported to have said, "I beseech you by the bowels of Christ, consider the possibility that you maybe mistaken." This is a danger, but the greater danger is for Christians to hide behind their imperfections. The strength of our faith is not in being perfect, but in repentance and forgiveness.
Yes, there are risks. Most of us have grown up in an environment that is fearful of confrontations. In the church we have become especially sensitive to "hurting the feelings of others." Here the strong words of William Muehi of Yale need to be heard: "I resent the increasingly common effort to stifle debate on the ground that truth may embarrass those committed to error."
Prophet is a good word and a good office. It belongs to the Jewish-Christian tradition. In that sense it belongs to us. It is a key word for us. We should not let it be lost, or even worse become trivialized. We are in good company. We are in the company of Jeremiah and Jesus.
One thing more: faithful prophets love their people. A faithful prophet in our time, Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "You won't change anybody whom you don't love." There is no question that both Jeremiah and Jesus loved their people. Listen to Jeremiah's anguish and love, revealed in these woe-filled words: "O that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." (9:1) These words ran with those of Jesus in his lament over Jerusalem when he cried, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalum, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold your house is forsaken." (vv. 34-35) In moving words we hear and feel Jesus' strong desire to save. Martin Luther, at a low and discouraging time in his life, preached a great sermon on the imagery of "the mother-hen and her chicks." He said, "When you look at the mother-hen and her chicks you see a picture of Christ and yourself better than any painter could paint ... Behold, this is the loveliest mother-hen ... But what happens? We refuse to be chicks ..."3
Hearing again this lament of love and concern, we can better understand the reaction of those two people who walked with him on the way to Emmaus, calling him "Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people ..." (24:19)
Yes, Jesus is more than a prophet. He is our Redeemer. But the message of redemption is set in the prophetic call to repentance. "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem ..."
Amen
1. Durwood Buchheim, Preaching Helps, "Prophet, Pulpit, Pew and Politics!" (Chicago, Christ Seminary - Seminex).
2. william Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, (Edinburgh, The Saint Andrew Press, 1953), pp. 191-2.
3. Martin Luther, quoted from Luther The Preacher, Fred W. Meuser, (Minneapolis, Augsburg Publishing House, 1983), pp. 62-64.
