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Sermon
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| DO YOU HEAR THE PROPHETIC VOICES?
Today we listen for the voices of the prophets. I
If you go down to the banks of the Yarra today you will hear lots of people predicting all kinds of imminent events. Come to think of it, it is almost commonplace to hear people claim that the end of the world is just around the corner or that we live in “apocalyptic times”. Do these people speak with a prophetic voice? Well, that’s for you to judge. Our society tends to think of a prophet as one who foretells future events. This might be because we look back on the prophets of old through the lens of scripture. Or it might be that we want the security of knowing what will happen. If we really want to come to grips with the true meaning of prophecy, we need to go and stand in the crowd. Only then will the prophetic voices speak to us directly. The prophets didn’t disappear thousands of years ago. There have always been prophets and always will be. If we want to assess whether a person speaks with a prophetic voice then two things stand out. “Do we hear the ring of great truth?” and “Do we hear a clear call to the way things should be?” Let’s examine the Gospel reading. Luke’s account of the preaching of John the Baptist begins in a very strange way. He starts with a catalogue of rulers and leaders. Why? The date is fixed in the first one. “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius”. At the end of the first century when Luke wrote these words everyone would immediately understand who they were and why they are included. It is like my saying “In the fifth year of Hitler’s Third Reich … ” You know what’s coming. Do not forget that between Jesus’ death and the writing of the Gospel there had been two devastating events. Nero had persecuted and slaughtered the followers of Jesus for years. Many Jews lost their lives in the revolt against Rome which resulted in the sack of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. Here are some of the facts that these names would conjure up in the minds of the early Jesus communities and also the Jews of the time. Tiberius Caesar exiled the whole Jewish community in Rome because four Jews had planned to steal a woman's treasure. At the end of his life he killed, tortured and imprisoned people without reason. Pontius Pilate was appointed to uphold the law but went out of his way to offend the Jewish laws. He sent his soldiers into Caesarea with images of the emperor Tiberius on their standards. This provoked among the Jews the demonstrations that he was after. He allowed Jesus to be crucified for political expediency. He was finally recalled to Rome for sentencing people to death without trial. Herod Antipas was the governor who imprisoned John the Baptist for speaking the truth about his marriage. Antipas then had John beheaded after being tricked by his wife. He refused to pass judgement on Jesus because he feared that Jesus was John come back to life. He then sent Jesus to Pilate. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests who arrested Jesus on trumped up charges. It is against this background of abuse of political and religious power that Luke places John the Baptist. John wandered throughout Jordan calling people to ‘repent’. This is a translation of the Greek word metanoia which actually means ‘change’. But Luke does something else. Mark, in the introduction to his Gospel, includes the prophet Isaiah’s call to “Prepare the way of the Lord … ” Luke uses the whole quotation that includes filling the valleys and making the mountains low; making the crooked straight and the rough places smooth. He finishes with the line “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” This is more than a call to change; it is a call for change. Not just a call to change oneself; but a call for all to return to God’s ways – the ways of justice, freedom and peace. If we look at all of Jesus’ teaching it can be summed up in the phrase that God wants us to be “the very best that we can possibly be.” Luke reminds us of the prophetic voice that declares that God wants all humanity to be “the very best that it can possibly be.” The values that God requires us to uphold like justice, mercy, compassion, generosity, respect, love and peace are not things that will miraculously appear at the end of time. They are, and always have been, things that we need to strive to preserve. II
One of the great prophets of the twentieth century was the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr. In the 1950s the equality defined in the Declaration of Independence meant little in parts of the American south where there was racial segregation and much discrimination. King was imprisoned for non-violent protest. Here is part of his famous “I have a dream” speech which galvanised the civil rights movement. I have a dream today.Do you hear the prophetic voice? After the devastation of World War II there was a strong determination to rebuild a peaceful and secure world so that the massive abuses to humanity would never occur again. This resulted in the formation of the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in 1948 and those who designed it had a great vision for a better world based on the dignity of all human beings. It was designed to provide a global ethical consciousness that is backed up by an international legal framework. The Declaration begins with these two clauses… Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace of the world.Do you hear the prophetic voice? But where do Human Rights stand as far as Christian faith is concerned? Some Christians feel uncomfortable about Human Rights because they are the product of a humanist philosophy and do not derive from God. There is deliberately no reference to God so that every member of the human family can subscribe to it. But, in fact, most religions find much common ground in the principles. The Inaugural Assembly of the Uniting Church in 1977 includes this paragraph in its “Statement to the Nation”. We pledge ourselves to seek the correction of injustices wherever they occur. We will work for the eradication of poverty and racism within our society and beyond. We affirm the rights of all people to equal educational opportunities, adequate health care, freedom of speech, employment or dignity in unemployment if work is not available. We will oppose all forms of discrimination which infringe basic rights and freedoms.Do you hear the prophetic voice? The underlying core of Human Rights is its view of equality. For those of faith there is a special relationship between God and humanity since humanity is “created in the image of God.” This makes every human being uniquely valuable and worthy of respect. Jesus’ teaching, and especially his call to love of neighbour, could even be the inspiration behind the Declaration of Human Rights. If you have not read the Declaration recently, you may care to take an abbreviated form with you this morning. To be deeply concerned about the rights of those in other parts of the world, indeed to speak out on behalf of the powerless, is part of our duty to God. Human Rights apply to all people always – this is what is meant by ‘universal’. Human Rights can never be claimed for some and not others. The reason we celebrate Human Rights Day is to think about how far we have come and how much more there is to do. Here are just a few of the issues that are concerning the UN at the present time.
The Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser has raised these issues as cause for concern: Australian Law or lack of it has already failed many individuals and groups. Amongst these we can include: Aboriginals; people held in the Department of Immigration detention centres; an Australian citizen deported; Australian citizens wrongly held in detention centres without medical attention; a United States citizen deported without “due process” and an Australian citizen being tried before a Military Commission. By the detention of the innocent, by the questioning of people known to be innocent by the authorities, by the right confirmed by the High Court with a majority of 4 to 3, to keep a failed asylum seeker in jail for the term of his natural life, if he could not be returned to his land of origin.Whenever we stand in the crowd and recognise the prophetic voice we are called to respond. Here are some practical suggestions that you may care to consider.
You, creator-God have written AMEN. ___________________________________________________
A sermon presented by Robert Sanderson at St Aidan's
Uniting Church North Balwyn, on 10th December, 2006 IT MAY BE REPRODUCED WITH ACKNOWLEDGMENT. |
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Page updated 11/12/06