November 18, 2007

I will give you words and wisdom
By Dawn M. Frankfurt

Glory to the Holy and Undivided Trinity;
God who is Three in One and One in Three; Who is beyond us, among us, within us;
Who was, and is, and is to come, world without end.  Amen.

When one undertakes studying the “Old Testament,” which is also known as “The Hebrew Scriptures,” some of the first things you learn are that the Hebrew Scriptures, as we have them today, are written by a whole variety of authors.  There are four distinct authors/editors that have been identified in the Torah, or the first five books of the Bible.  These different authors are nicknamed: J, E, P and D.  Each has their own characteristics.  Once you understand this, you can read a chapter in the Book of Genesis, for example, and identify which verses were likely written by which authors.  A number of editors and scribes spliced these versions of the story together over time, until we ended up with our current version of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Not only are there many authors of the various books in the Bible, there are all sorts of different writings, or for my fellow English majors, different genres, contained in the Bible, as well.  The first 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Torah, are the books of the Law.  The Old Testament also contains poetry (all of the Psalms are composed in verse), wisdom literature (for example: the book of Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, the story of Job, and the book of Ecclesiastes), and there are many prophetic books including: Samuel, Jeremiah, Hosea and of course Elijah and Elisha in the books of Kings. 

Prophets in Holy Scripture served as the human transmitter of God’s word to God’s people.  God’s word through the prophets talked about the future, ethics and theology.  Most importantly of all, they “channeled” what God wanted to say to God’s people.  A prophet always delivered God’s whole message, no matter how unpopular it was, no matter the cost personally, and never edited the message God had given to be delivered. 

In both the Old and the New Testament, we are being warned about listening to or being influenced by false prophets. We are to guard ourselves against false prophets.  But how are we supposed to determine whether a prophet is delivering messages directly from God, or from somewhere out in left field?  People observed that Moses had been one of the greatest prophets of all time, and they identified characteristics of his prophecies.  All other prophets were measured against the standard established by Moses. Prophets who were identified as being in the tradition of Moses were the ones you could trust, the ones who were speaking the truth.

Sometimes we forget that in addition to coming into the world to teach and proclaim the Kingdom of God, and in addition to coming into the world to die on the cross for our sins and then be raised to new life again, Jesus also came into the world as a prophet.  One of the things Luke is doing in his gospel, is establishing Jesus as a prophet in the tradition of Moses – or, in other words, telling his audience that Jesus is a prophet who tells the truth and establishes his credibility by showing how he meets the Mosaic standard used to identify trustworthy prophets.  Some of these characteristics of prophets in the tradition of Moses, were: 

The prophet is the only legitimate link between God and people. God gives people a gift of a prophet like Moses to make communication in both directions possible.  hrough the prophet people could approach God.
The prophet does not attempt to innovate or interpret the message from God.  The prophet’s task was to deliver all words God placed in the prophet’s mouth.  Those who listened to Luke’s gospel understood that Jesus, the prophet, delivered only the pure word of God.

Prophets in the tradition of Moses only the divine word, not visions.  When the prophet spoke about something which was yet to happen, those who heard the prophet speak would reserve judgment until such a time as the words were proven to be true.  If what the prophet said about the future was later shown to be accurate, the people of Israel distinguished this prophet from false ones.

At the time Jesus lived, and at the time books of the Old Testament were written, there were many people claiming to be prophets, and one of the problems was that they were giving contradictory prophecies and oracles. It was obvious somebody had to be wrong. Only the prophets whose word was later borne out and found to be true, were trusted by the people. 

Those who were prophets in the tradition of Moses were opposed to all forms of cult, opposed to worship of anything other than the God of Israel. 

True prophets were native born, not a foreign import. 

The most important thing on this list of criteria is the fact that the words of a Mosaic prophet always come true, there is always a fulfillment of true prophesy.

Using this criteria, which would have been well known at the time, people were directed to conclude that Jesus was a prophet of God.  What Jesus said about his death and resurrection, what he said about the destruction of the temple, had both happened, and they happened in ways which were consistent with what Jesus had told his followers.  The gospel of Luke was written well after the life, death and resurrection of Christ, and also after the destruction of the temple.  So, anyone reading or hearing the story of Luke’s gospel, would be able to make the simple connection that the things Jesus had said came true; and if what he said about the past was true, then one could safely assume that what he said about the future is to be trusted. 

Jesus is warning his followers about the coming of the persecution of his followers.  We now know that Jesus’ statement about the future persecution of his followers did come true, and this is recorded for us in the book of Acts (It is widely accepted that the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written by the same person).  Stephen’s opponents were not able to resist his wisdom, and the leaders who confronted John and Peter could say nothing to contradict their teaching.  Fulfillment of Jesus' predictions confirms his sovereign authority and the divine necessity of the persecutions which were at hand. 

Jesus closes this portion of his discourse by saying:  “You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”  In his words, we hear certainty of persecution, but it is balanced by the certainty of God's protection.  Don't be terrified, but know that following Jesus exposes one to opposition.  This is known as the “fine print.”  Think of what must be disclosed about a house before it can be sold.  Or think about all of that small lettering you didn’t read when you joined The Book of the Month Club and got 10 books for 99 cents.  The fine print was telling you that along with the good deal also came the consequences.  From that time forward, you had to buy a book per month at the full retail price, for a minimum, as I remember, of a whole year. 

Being arrested and brought to trial is a chance for the disciples to give their testimony about Jesus.  This is how the good and the bad are all wrapped up together in discipleship.  Christianity is forever the story of “both/and.”  Telling people about Jesus, the Son of God, gets one arrested.  But getting arrested provides a larger audience to testify to about Jesus.  Jesus warns that this may bring further persecution.  The assurance given to his followers is that Jesus will provide the words they are to speak and a wisdom that their opponents will not be able to withstand.  If you value living your life the way Jesus has called you to live, what you are doing is valuing the truth of Jesus more than you value your worldly life.  But in doing this which sounds so difficult, you receive the ultimate silver lining out of your trials: eternal life with Jesus on the right hand of God.

So what does this tell us about what we are supposed to be doing?  Today, without persecution threatening us, how are we supposed to stand up and give our testimony about Christ?  The answer is that we are supposed to, in our day-to-day-lives, do the very things which Jesus taught: create community, oppose injustice, work for peace, and make a place for the excluded.  Modern day examples of those who have suffered persecution and hardship are those who have worked to transcend social barriers, have cared for the least privileged, and have confronted abuses of power and wealth.  Think of Galileo Galilei, Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Ross Tubman, Thomas Cranmer, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandella, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. 

Those who wish to find a more vibrant religious experience, therefore, should look not for signs of the future through the false prophets of numerology, divination, horoscopes, seances, tarot cards or palm reading.  Instead, we must be diligent looking for signals that it is time to live by Jesus' call for obedience here and now.

Lord, guard us, your children, wherever we wander,
Release us from pressures we cannot withstand,
Lift us high when we falter or founder,
Place our feet on rocks and not on sand,
Give us your hand as we walk through the darkness,
Strengthen our souls with bright hope from above,
Keep joy in our hearts against all the world’s starkness,
And fill all our emptiness with your love.  AMEN!