A PROPHET IN BOLD AND CAPS
March 17, 2013 | Patrick Preheim
The other day I found myself blushing while eating breakfast. It wasn’t the ravishing and ravenous wife across the table from me. Nor was it the pride of my handpicked berries in front of me. It was the radio. In our on-going effort to be reading through the Bible on pace with our preaching schedule Patty and I have resorted to listening to the biblical text on audio CD. We had arrived at Ezekiel 23 and what I heard made the colour rise in my cheeks. I actually stopped shoveling down my saskatoons so that I could concentrate. I have read Ezekiel numerous times but hearing the words out loud shocked me. In chapter 23 Ezekiel uses very lewd—we might even say pornographic— language. Breasts are caressed. Virgin bosoms are fondled. Male reproductive organs appear in an equestrian size with stallion like emissions. Needless to say, I didn’t need my morning caffeine hit that day.
This experience got me thinking about Ezekiel in particular and the prophets more generally. Why do these characters say and do such wild things? My question has its answer, I think, in chapter 12. Ezekiel is speaking to a people who struggle to hear and see. The prophets say and do outlandish things because it is the only way a deaf and blind people will pay attention. They use extreme language and extreme action to draw attention to the message. So, for example, in Ezekiel we find grand images of wheels within wheels, elaborate dramas, valleys of dry bones, and titillating tirades. Shock is a primary communication technique of the prophets.
Speaking of prophets…. Have I told you about the Mennonite pastor who drank a can of beer at the legislature? No, I didn’t think so. Some years back a pastor in the States got it into his head that the liquor industry was preying upon the 1st Nations people in his area. He got this idea by visiting with the elders on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The elders had banned the sale of alcohol on the Reserve. To capitalize on the lucrative market the beer outlet stories cropped up just across the political boundaries. This made the elders sad and mad because their people were drinking themselves into oblivion. Here a few statistics from Pine Ridge as of 2007: alcoholism rates estimated at 80%; unemployment at 80-90%; per capita yearly income of $4,000; 8 times the US rate of diabetes & TB; infant mortality at three times the national average; life expectancy on Pine Ridge was the lowest in the US and the 2nd lowest in the Western Hemisphere with only Haitians dying at a younger age (www.re-member.org/pine_ridge_reservation). With these horrendous stats I too might seek a way to forget. I believe in personal responsibility, but no individual reform will succeed in a system so enslaved. Neither the Federal nor State governments were willing to work with the Reserve in extending the no-alcohol zone. Perhaps it was governmental worship of capitalism which influenced their thinking or maybe it was the half percent tax they collected on every beer sale. In either case it was clear they were worshipping false gods. In an effort to open eyes to issues of justice and righteousness Pastor Ratzlaff opened his beer in the rotunda and took a swig. When eyes are blind and ears are stopped and the sin of leadership abounds and the apathy of the people resounds—then the prophets rise to provoke us into careful attention.
One of my books of the prophets lists four major themes in Ezekiel (David j. Zucker, Israel’s Prophets: An Introduction for Christians and Jews, pp. 94-97).
- God will judge human wrongdoing. It is on this topic that Ezekiel speaks in erotic terms about the adultery of Israel and the consequences of spiritual promiscuity.
- Judgement and the demise of the old covenant is not the end. Ezekiel maintains that God’s presence will remain with the people, even in exile. Ezekiel dramatically acts out this theological point in our scripture reading for today. He loads up his suitcase, digs a hole in the wall, drags his pack through, and hoists it on his shoulder as if heading off to Babylon. Prophet and God go before their people.
- A third emphasis of Ezekiel is a recalibration of individual and collective responsibility. Ezekiel rejected the notion of parents or children being responsible for each other’s actions. Ezekiel invokes the powerful biblical image of the Good Shepherd to drive his point home. God says, “I will save my flock...I will judge between sheep and sheep”. It is hard hear this text and not think of the judgement between sheep and goats in Matthew 25 or the Good Shepherd of John 10.
- The links with the gospels go even deeper when we consider the fourth emphasis of Ezekiel: that a messiah will re-establish temple worship. This is the topic of the prophet’s final 9 chapters. And of course the gospel writers understood Jesus to be that Messiah. He did not restore temple sacrifice, but he did bring atonement to the people. Jesus made temple worship something that can happen anywhere, not just in Jerusalem.
So much bible and theology—it is time for a prophet report. My most recent edition of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly highlighted Indira Johnson and her peace work through the arts (Mark Guarino, “People Making a Difference (March 4, 2013), pp. 44-45). “The public art project, titled “Ten Thousand Ripples,” is meant to be “catalyst” for encouraging conversations about peace in areas of Chicago that need it the most.” “They appear when you least expect it: 300-pound sculpted heads of the Buddha, emerging from sidewalks, under the L tracks, and amid parks and gardens in some of Chicago’s most...violence-plagued neighborhoods.” “Johnson is not a Buddhist, nor is the project meant to generate religious converts. She chose [the Buddha] because it is an unconventional image that speaks of peace more provocatively than, say, a dove.” It is acceptable for passers-by to change the direction of the Buddha’s gaze or for young toughs to give the Buddha an extreme make-over with a spray can. The art is owned by the community and becomes a port to enter conversations about peace. The article does not name the religious affiliation of Johnson, but I wonder if she doesn’t know something of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. She certainly has a grasp of the prophetic office. As does Jesus.
Jesus is truly a prophet in the tradition of his Hebrew canon. He engages in dramatic action meant to get people thinking. Consider the last week of his life.
- Jesus allows himself to become the star of a parade which takes him from the Mt. of Olives into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. This action calls to mind a triumphal entry alluded to in Zechariah 9 & 14.
- Once in town it doesn’t take Jesus long to symbolically cleanse the temple—another prophetic action.
- On Thursday of that week Jesus hosted a meal for his disciples. Not all prophetic acts raise blood pressure. Sometimes participation in a meal can evoke a response.
All these are prophetic actions. They are designed to make us reflect on our hopes, our transgressions, the Messiah who offers us life. In the weeks ahead we will again have opportunity to enter the prophetic story Jesus gave the world.
And entry into the drama is what Ezekiel, Jesus, and church tradition hope for us. Ezekiel and Jesus offer us a new spirit, a new heart, a new covenant. They call us to lay our hardened hearts aside and place our trust in a God who does not allow our sin, death, or dislocation to have the last word. The story will take us to all the right places when we join in.
Even as we go through a type of resurrection and renewal participating in the prophetic drama we are also invited to offer prophetic witness in our time and place. I am suggesting that we allow God and Jesus to activate our prophetic imagination so that we might continue the prophetic tradition. On that theme I offer you several additional illustrations of prophets.
Page A4 of the Star Phoenix from this past week had two examples of prophetic action. The late Howard Willems was recognized for his advocacy in establishing a public registry of buildings with asbestos. His case raises several important points. First, sometimes it is our personal afflictions which point us to the place of our prophetic role. Our suffering sensitizes us to the injustices which God wants to iron out. Howard’s death is also noteworthy. We must acknowledge that sometimes a prophet does not survive to see God’s fulfilment. Moses doesn’t cross the Jordon. Isaiah doesn’t see the exiles return. Ezekiel doesn’t see the temple rebuilt.
The second example from page A4 were the students from the Edwards School of Business who willingly spent the week homeless as part of their education. The symbolic action of these students—people like us—makes us stop and think. When homelessness has a face we recognize we think differently about it.
I recognize that not everyone will try a stint of homelessness and not all will feel comfortable in legislative battles and not everyone believes opening a can of beer in public appropriate and not every artist will put their work in a public park. These are capital “P” prophetic activity—actions in capital letters and in bold. I have a thought or two about small “P” prophetic actions.
In the spirit of Maundy Thursday, break bread with others. The movie “Babbats Feast” chronicles well the transformation that can come from a shared meal. If you haven’t seen it, make time during Holy Week to do so.
In the spirit of Good Friday, carry your cross with courage and faith. Jesus suffered innocently and sometimes we do as well. Draw strength from the scriptures that sustained Christ and the community which bears his name. Sometimes simply surviving is a prophetic act.
In the spirit of Lent let the fasts we have chosen become a prophetic action which invites others into reflection on life. Let our fasts point people to the lordship of the one true God. Let our fasts highlight injustices which plague our world. Let our fasts be a reminder that life is more than food and drink. Perhaps you haven’t taken on a Lenten discipline this year. I have counted the days and with a fortnight, 13 sleeps, remaining there is still time to have a provocative Lent.
We are a congregation that loves music, and as I mentioned during children’s time music can be prophetic.
Or consider #580 in our HWB. The Hymnal Companion which gives the history of text, tune and composer says that it is very likely a Quaker hymn. Given the persecutions they experienced in England I can easily envision this music as a protest song against the worst of humanity. Many hymns serve such a function. When we sing hymns in public or private we are making a prophetic statement. Hymns give voice to our cultural critique and they give us strength when weary. They are a prophetic medium.
And with that in mind take your HWB and turn to #580. Let our voices ring out strongly as we join together in the prophetic action of singing. Amen.
Prayer Before the Sermon
All Knowing God, death is on our mind these days--
the death of loved ones,
the dying of friends,
the death of Jesus.
Help us remember, O God, that death is not the end.
And in the power of this memory help us live prophetically--
loving those you place in our lives,
befriending those who suffer,
testifying to the healing and wholeness found in Jesus.
We pray in the name of him who was raised from the dead. Amen.
Children’s Time
Music is a medium which has the power to provoke us to action or at the very least provoke us to new thinking. Consider, for example, Woody Guthrie’s song “This Land is your land”.
[Have Jake and Barb lead the kids and congregation in a verse or two.]
Speculation has it that Guthrie wrote the song in response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” which he felt failed to acknowledge the underside of life in America. The last verse is a real stinger:
In the squares of the city / In the shadow of the steeple /
Near the relief office / I see my people / And some are grumblin' /
and some are wonderin' / If this land's still made for you and me.
