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My Sermonizin'
December 09, 2004 - 9:38 p.m.

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Well, the sermon didn't bomb...it actually went pretty well, especially considering it was the first I've ever preached. I've given "reflections" at the Rehab Centre, but those were off-the-cuff sorts of remarks.

So here's the sermon...for you church-nerds out there, the lectionary texts are Isaiah 6:1-9 and Matthew 10:28-33, and the Psalm is 16:5-11.


In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Today is a memorial for the prophets of the Old Testament. It�s an odd lumping, which pushes together some very disparate voices. From the Torah of Moses, to the social justice of Amos, to the wrath of Obadiah to the all-encompassing breadth of Isaiah - all of these are Old Testament prophets, and that�s not even counting characters like Samuel who show up in the �historical� books. That�s an awfully diverse bunch of people and prophecies to be remembering on one day, and some of them...well. Perhaps we�d like to pick out one or two that suit our modern concerns and leave the fire and brimstone alone. But no. Today, for better or worse, we honour all the Old Testament prophets. You can�t have Amos�s justice without Obadiah�s fury. It doesn�t work that way.

The church, in her wisdom, is also asking us to reflect this day on our own prophetic voice by looking through the lens of those who went before. We are asked to enter into a dialogue with this motley crew of prophets. We listen as they warn us, not of imminent doom as popular culture would have it, but of the consequences inherent in our actions and attitudes. Prophets ask us, demand us, to examine the way things are and to imagine the way things ought to be.

Too often, I think, we in the liberal wing of the church like to ignore some of these dangerous and slightly embarrassing figures. Oh, we�re very good at prophetic vision, so long as it suits the cause du jour. But the prophets themselves? The really nasty ones from the Old Testament? Ezekiel is a good read, but we probably don�t want him to show up for coffee hour. The Old Testament prophets can be a harsh and scary bunch. So why would we want to reference them as we develop our own prophetic voices? What do they, as a group, offer?

Oddly enough the psalmist sums up for us what I think is the wisdom of the prophets. �I have set the Lord always before me.� The prophets we honour today kept their focus on God, even when it was uncomfortable for both them and their listeners. They didn�t set out to fix things according to their own ideas, but according to the justice of God. Again and again they called Israel back into a relationship with God, and this is the role of the prophet. To lose sight of this is to risk thinking that the Kingdom is something we can create, that we ourselves can solve all the problems. Like the Israelites asking the prophet Samuel for a king, it�s putting our own agendas in place of the Lord. When we call for change, when we demand social justice, are we not called to do so with God before us? And as we are Christians we do so in the name of Christ.

That sounds a bit presumptuous, doesn�t it? To prophesy in the name of Christ. How can I, mere creature, a man of unclean lips, speak for the King of Kings? Yet we all stood today with Isaiah, in the very presence of God - because when we hear the word we live the word - and the coal has touched our lips, too. Yes we are broken creatures, but God accepts us, and has called us to be Christ�s voice on earth.

This can be a frightening proposition. When we speak in the name of Christ we risk rejection and ridicule, especially in secular Canada. We risk being misunderstood, thought of as Jesus-freak loonies, especially if people find out we�re from the States. Yet people of many faiths have suffered far worse, and still do in much of the world. And Jesus warns us that it�s not going to be easy. In the passage just before today�s gospel he tells us that we will be sheep among wolves, that we will be hated because of his name. But today he challenges us not to fear the punishments of this world. He assures us that we are precious in God�s eyes. Even the hairs on our heads are numbered. These are comforting words, indeed.

Mixing his sugar with medicine, Jesus also delivers a dire warning to those who would follow him. If you�re going to be my disciple, you�d better commit to it. �Whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.� This is strong language. If we chose to take up the cross, we�d better be ready to carry it.

I wear a cross around my neck every day. Some days, just before getting on the streetcar or subway, I tuck it under my shirt. It�s easier that way. Nobody will approach me with stories of how God speaks to them from their toaster. I won�t get the odd looks that open faith sometimes inspires. And, most of all, I won�t be held to a higher standard of behaviour by people who see the cross and expect unconditional love. Some days I�m just not up to that. What a pathetic Christian I can be. Saints have gone before me, cheerfully accepting death for the love of their Lord, and I can�t be bothered to admit that he�s my Lord too.

This is the challenge that we face as prophets. We are called to go out into the world demanding justice for the oppressed, crying out for the poor and the sick. We are called to champion these causes which are so vitally important to us both as individuals and as a society. But we�re not a secular group. We aren�t social workers. We are called to work in the fields of the Lord. The authority of the prophet derives from God, to whom the prophet points. We are called to prophesy rooted in faith, standing with Isaiah at the foot of the throne, and never forgetting that Christ is our Lord and that we seek not our own justice, not the justice of the world, but the justice of God.

I have set the Lord always before me, for he is on my right hand. Therefore I shall not fall.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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