How Long?
June 23, 2013 | Anita Retzlaff
Grace and peace to you from God the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ. We are tearing through the Bible at break neck speed and there is little time to really take in and process all that we are hearing but Patrick and I hope that you are actually ‘enjoying’ the experience. Even though we are surrounded by angry prophets lately and the outcome for Israel is destruction and exile, I hope that you find all of scripture interesting and illuminating. We have to plow through a few more weeks of gloom and doom and I admit that the ranting of these prophets can become tiresome and disturbing. At the same time however most of us continue to watch the news on TV and read it in newspapers and magazines. We serve up our own cocktails of gloom and doom as we assess our current global failures. Contemporary prophets package things quite differently from what we will read from the Bible today. However, I think that if we pay attention and listen with an open ear we may make some startling connections between the realities of 7th century B.C. and 21st century North America.
In reading the Christian Century this past week I came upon a book review written by Old Testament writer and professor, Walter Brueggemann. In commenting about preaching and hearing the sermon, he writes that we must be ready to hear what scripture says and approach the experience with “obedience” and “rigor” – concepts that he quotes from the book that he is reviewing. What I found most interesting is what he writes next. This process, he maintains, constitutes “a huge demand on both preacher and congregation.” [Christian Century, June 12, 2013, p. 41] The key to “enjoying” the Bible from cover to cover is the commitment that we share as a congregation to explore the Word of God. We are in this together and together we are invested in discernment and study. What do these ancient words mean for us in our daily living? What do we learn about God? Where do we find hope? This is the challenge that we have taken on in our journey through the Bible.
Habakkuk’s challenge this morning actually isn’t a difficult one for us to fathom. In fact we would agree with him whole-heartedly I think. He has a bone to pick with God and is passionate about it. Habakkuk wants to know why God is silent while the wicked seem to be having a heyday! God appears to passively watch while the enemy Chaldeans, otherwise known as Assyria, trample over and completely crush Israel. The Chaldeans are cruel and corrupt and worship idols. Habakkuk personally is distraught and can hardly watch the blatant corruption and destruction and the total defeat of his people. He wants answers and he confronts God demanding a response.
We will be reading Habakkuk in three parts this morning. The first part is an exchange between the demoralized prophet and a God who is more than fed up with the moral emptiness of everyone – Israel included. Sheila will be reading the part of the prophet Habakkuk and Alison will read God’s responses. The last lines of this section are printed in the bulletin.
READ – Hab. 1:1-2:4 (Sheila 1:1-4; Alison 1:5-11; Sheila 1:12-2:2a; Alison 2:2b – 4)
This is the word of the LORD! Indeed! Are we paying attention? What does it mean? While most of Israel’s prophets warn that the temple and the tribe of Israel will be annihilated and that deserving this punishment any Israelite surviving the carnage will be shipped off to Babylon, Habakkuk isn’t convinced. He maintains that God’s chosen tribe does not deserve such extreme consequences. The sentence is too harsh and the Babylonians more evil than the Israelites. So how does God figure that this is justice? Habakkuk is going to watch from the ramparts and wait - with great skepticism - to see what hand God will deal.
And the Divine response comes. “Hang on,” says God, “there is still a vision, a reckoning for the time when this exploitation comes to an end. It will all come out in the wash. Be patient. Watch. Wait. Everyone has had their part to play in this debacle – you too Israel. But in the end evil will destroy itself. So, if you trust that I, God, want what is good, you will eventually see how things settle out.”
“Fine for you to say God! Listen to the trouble that surrounds your people.” The scene shifts. And now we hear the lament of those who have been oppressed and we hear their consternation. They enumerate the injustices of their oppressors: the hoarding of wealth, the drive for security at the expense of the poor, the horrific violence, idolatry and shameful behaviour. Hear the woes of Israel, the oppressed ones and imagine the reckoning that is to come! There is an undertone of assurance that evil will not prevail: will not last forever. Edna will read this series of five “woes.”
READ – Hab. 2:5-20 Edna
The LORD is in his holy temple – a confession that no matter what evil Israel falls prey to, God is still the supreme power. Though the temple will be destroyed God’s presence, God’s light, God’s “shekinah” will shine through darkness. In the midst of this horrible recitation of woe the glimmer of hope flickers through the cracks of despair. This is the truth that all of scripture proclaims - from Genesis through Revelation. Hope is never gone forever. This is why we read the Bible: to hear the story! The people of God, the tribe of Israel, set aside to provide light to the nations, to be a witness to the world, will never be totally snuffed out. God’s people have been called to be love in the world in all times and places. We, God’s people, have been so called forth… and sometimes we forget!
And so, God shows up, shows up to remind us of “whose we are.” Hear the story through images of creation, frustration and salvation. Sheila and Alison will read the last part of Habakkuk’s proclamation.
READ – Hab. 3:1-19 Alison 3:1-11; Sheila 3:12-19
How long must we wait? When will justice be done? Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Colombia, Turkey – how long? Grassy Narrows, Attiwapiskat, safe pipeline construction, government spending concerns, “Idle No More”, poverty in our core neighbourhoods – how long? Family division, addictions, depression, terminal cancers, loneliness – how long?
As long as it takes. Our faith in God is not dependent upon a smooth ride. God has never promised that life is a luxury class excursion for the faithful, charmed by good fortune, destined toward a sunset of peace and tranquility. That is not the Christian life. There is a longer view, a larger understanding of what it means to be covered by the justice and grace of God. Habakkuk remains faithful - watching, waiting and impatient. It is acceptable to confront God with our anger and heartache and to expect that justice will come. Where we can, we work toward a solution. Where we have no power to change things on our own or the bad behaviour of others we must wait and pray and expect that anything can change. That is hope.
Habakkuk is a prophet with whom we can identify. We will find our own courage in the writings of this prophetic book. When the going gets tough,
“though the fig tree does not
blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive
fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from
the fold
and there is no herd in the
stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD:
I will exult in the God of my
salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength:
he makes my feet like the feet
of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the
heights. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
