Sermon - Year B, Proper 9
Written and Delivered by The Rev. Philip Schaffner
In the name of the Creator God, Amen.
"You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear; for they are a rebellious house." (Ezekiel 2:7)
Being a prophet is risky. It is to be surrounded by "briers and thorns and scorpions" and yet persist in proclaiming the judgment of God. It is a lonely vocation, albeit one of passion and fire.
Unfortunately, I think today we misunderstand prophets. The prophets were not fortunetellers or soothsayers. Instead, the prophets observed society and saw the trends and implications. Their prophetic voice is not one of absolute certainty or even that of a psychic, but rather prophets name the injustices, outline the consequences and then call for repentance. The goal of prophecy is for the community to respond and return to right relationship with God.
The prophets have one primary concern: faithfulness to God and God's covenant with the people. In particular, God's commandments concerning treat of the poor, the widows, the orphans and outsiders. Prophets give voice to the voiceless and roar with God's anger at the injustice present in their community.
For example, the prophet Amos proclaimed:
Likewise, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed:
Yet, these judgments are not the final word. The prophets always pronounced God's forgiveness to those who repent and turn back to God. For example, Isaiah later proclaimed:
Thus prophesy is a judgment of society accompanied with a call to repent. The great Jewish scholar and mystic Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, "Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned riches of the world." (p. 5) "Above all, the prophets remind us of the moral state of a people: Few are guilty, but all are responsible." (p. 16)
To be a prophet is to be an unwelcome voice—a reminder of the pain and suffering that surrounds us. It is to remind the community of the oppression its complicity perpetuates.
I'm always amazed at how often Jeremiah's call is used outside the context of his life. The book of Jeremiah opens with God speaking the following to Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5). Yet Jeremiah later said, "Cursed be the day on which I born! Because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, why did I come forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?" (Jeremiah 20:14,17-18)
Indeed, Jeremiah felt compelled to say the following to his community:
"The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the air and for the animals of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. And I, the Lord, will bring to an end the sound of mirth and gladness, the voice of the bride and bridegroom will not be heard for the land shall become a waste." (Jeremiah 8:2)
Again, the prophets' proclamations are not inescapable finalities, but rather what will come to pass unless the community repents and changes its ways. Nevertheless, the prophet's charge is to speak, no matter what the reaction.
So, what is the prophetic voice that we'd rather not hear, but to which we must pay attention?
Perhaps, it might go something like this:
Ah, you who pursue your own gain at the expensive of your neighbors. You who amass large arsenals of weapons and hoard personal possessions. Ah, you who turn your back on the poor, and under-fund your children and the elderly. Ah, you who indiscriminately rape the earth of its resources and burn its fossil fuels.
Because you have pursued your own gain and turned from the commandments of God to love your neighbor, your water will become polluted and undrinkable, you will find yourself snared in endless wars, fear will grip you, and your cities will become unlivable, the earth's climate will shift, the oceans will rise and the fields will dry up. Those who have much will lose and those with little, even what they have will be gone.
Our environmental practices now threaten to undermine our very way of life. The writer Parker Palmer wrote, "Do not conspire in your own diminishment." He wasn't talking about this context, but I think it fully applies.
The reality of climate change is already being felt in many places throughout the world and will become more pronounced in the years to come. The scientific community is united in the assertion that our climate is changing rapidly. They are united in saying that human activity is to blame. Any debates in the scientific community are now focused on the severity of the change. Will it be bad or nightmarish? Will it be serious or catastrophic? The real question, scientists are unable to answer is will we find the political will to do something about it?
Scientists aren't the only ones raising alarm bells. Major insurance companies are starting to take climate change seriously. The investment firm Goldman Sacs is even starting to make changes.
OK, but why is this a religious issue?
To begin with, we have been charged to be stewards of creation. Thus any negative changes to our environment are our responsibility. Secondly, as the prophets remind us, God cares about what happens to the poor and to the widowed and orphaned. Climate change will and already has affected the poor more significantly than the rich. Even though the rich world is largely to blame. To the extent that climate patterns that are preventable and that are due to our actions hurt the poor, we are responsible.
However, like all prophetic warnings, this is not inevitable. Indeed most estimates give us 10 years to make changes - to repent and to turn toward non-carbon dioxide producing technologies. Beyond that we might not be able to slow or change the course of climate change.
The church can and should be helping to lead the way. We should be a prophetic voice calling for repentance and naming the implications of policies that value big oil companies instead of the poor. Like all prophets, we risk isolation and ridicule, but our charge is to speak.
This is a huge issue, but many of the solutions are already available. We can purchase the most efficient appliances available. We can use programmable thermostats. We can carpool, bike, or take the bus. If possible, we can purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles. We can buy food that is produced locally. We can buy carbon credits to offset our carbon usage. We can advocate for stronger environmental protections for our forests and waters. We can keep the issue in front of our politicians. We can plant trees and watershed-friendly plants. Just to name a few examples.
All of that will make a difference and will set an example for our neighbors and our country.
Before I close, I want to give each of you a gift. Please accept this low-wattage light bulb as a tangible symbol of the prophetic light of Christ. These will last years longer than traditional light bulbs and in the process save you money. When you turn this on, I encourage you to say a prayer for our environment.
Two weeks ago, I said that together we are the body of Christ. And as such, we can do what Jesus did: we can change the weather.
Again I say, let's change the weather!
In the name of the Creator God, Amen.
"You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear; for they are a rebellious house." (Ezekiel 2:7)
Being a prophet is risky. It is to be surrounded by "briers and thorns and scorpions" and yet persist in proclaiming the judgment of God. It is a lonely vocation, albeit one of passion and fire.
Unfortunately, I think today we misunderstand prophets. The prophets were not fortunetellers or soothsayers. Instead, the prophets observed society and saw the trends and implications. Their prophetic voice is not one of absolute certainty or even that of a psychic, but rather prophets name the injustices, outline the consequences and then call for repentance. The goal of prophecy is for the community to respond and return to right relationship with God.
The prophets have one primary concern: faithfulness to God and God's covenant with the people. In particular, God's commandments concerning treat of the poor, the widows, the orphans and outsiders. Prophets give voice to the voiceless and roar with God's anger at the injustice present in their community.
For example, the prophet Amos proclaimed:
Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. (Amos 5:11)
Likewise, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed:
Ah, you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is room for no one but you, and you are left to live alone in the midst of the land! Adonai , The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing: Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah. (Isaiah 5:8-10)
Yet, these judgments are not the final word. The prophets always pronounced God's forgiveness to those who repent and turn back to God. For example, Isaiah later proclaimed:
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly…Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help and God will say, Here I am. (Isaiah 58:3b,4b,6-9)
Thus prophesy is a judgment of society accompanied with a call to repent. The great Jewish scholar and mystic Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, "Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned riches of the world." (p. 5) "Above all, the prophets remind us of the moral state of a people: Few are guilty, but all are responsible." (p. 16)
To be a prophet is to be an unwelcome voice—a reminder of the pain and suffering that surrounds us. It is to remind the community of the oppression its complicity perpetuates.
I'm always amazed at how often Jeremiah's call is used outside the context of his life. The book of Jeremiah opens with God speaking the following to Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5). Yet Jeremiah later said, "Cursed be the day on which I born! Because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, why did I come forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?" (Jeremiah 20:14,17-18)
Indeed, Jeremiah felt compelled to say the following to his community:
"The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the air and for the animals of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. And I, the Lord, will bring to an end the sound of mirth and gladness, the voice of the bride and bridegroom will not be heard for the land shall become a waste." (Jeremiah 8:2)
Again, the prophets' proclamations are not inescapable finalities, but rather what will come to pass unless the community repents and changes its ways. Nevertheless, the prophet's charge is to speak, no matter what the reaction.
So, what is the prophetic voice that we'd rather not hear, but to which we must pay attention?
Perhaps, it might go something like this:
Ah, you who pursue your own gain at the expensive of your neighbors. You who amass large arsenals of weapons and hoard personal possessions. Ah, you who turn your back on the poor, and under-fund your children and the elderly. Ah, you who indiscriminately rape the earth of its resources and burn its fossil fuels.
Because you have pursued your own gain and turned from the commandments of God to love your neighbor, your water will become polluted and undrinkable, you will find yourself snared in endless wars, fear will grip you, and your cities will become unlivable, the earth's climate will shift, the oceans will rise and the fields will dry up. Those who have much will lose and those with little, even what they have will be gone.
Our environmental practices now threaten to undermine our very way of life. The writer Parker Palmer wrote, "Do not conspire in your own diminishment." He wasn't talking about this context, but I think it fully applies.
The reality of climate change is already being felt in many places throughout the world and will become more pronounced in the years to come. The scientific community is united in the assertion that our climate is changing rapidly. They are united in saying that human activity is to blame. Any debates in the scientific community are now focused on the severity of the change. Will it be bad or nightmarish? Will it be serious or catastrophic? The real question, scientists are unable to answer is will we find the political will to do something about it?
Scientists aren't the only ones raising alarm bells. Major insurance companies are starting to take climate change seriously. The investment firm Goldman Sacs is even starting to make changes.
OK, but why is this a religious issue?
To begin with, we have been charged to be stewards of creation. Thus any negative changes to our environment are our responsibility. Secondly, as the prophets remind us, God cares about what happens to the poor and to the widowed and orphaned. Climate change will and already has affected the poor more significantly than the rich. Even though the rich world is largely to blame. To the extent that climate patterns that are preventable and that are due to our actions hurt the poor, we are responsible.
However, like all prophetic warnings, this is not inevitable. Indeed most estimates give us 10 years to make changes - to repent and to turn toward non-carbon dioxide producing technologies. Beyond that we might not be able to slow or change the course of climate change.
The church can and should be helping to lead the way. We should be a prophetic voice calling for repentance and naming the implications of policies that value big oil companies instead of the poor. Like all prophets, we risk isolation and ridicule, but our charge is to speak.
This is a huge issue, but many of the solutions are already available. We can purchase the most efficient appliances available. We can use programmable thermostats. We can carpool, bike, or take the bus. If possible, we can purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles. We can buy food that is produced locally. We can buy carbon credits to offset our carbon usage. We can advocate for stronger environmental protections for our forests and waters. We can keep the issue in front of our politicians. We can plant trees and watershed-friendly plants. Just to name a few examples.
All of that will make a difference and will set an example for our neighbors and our country.
Before I close, I want to give each of you a gift. Please accept this low-wattage light bulb as a tangible symbol of the prophetic light of Christ. These will last years longer than traditional light bulbs and in the process save you money. When you turn this on, I encourage you to say a prayer for our environment.
Two weeks ago, I said that together we are the body of Christ. And as such, we can do what Jesus did: we can change the weather.
Again I say, let's change the weather!