A TRUSTWORTHY PROPHET OF THE LORD

It is the middle of the eleventh century before our era.

External forces are threatening the Israelites. The militarily superior Philistines have their eyes on expanding their territory – even if that means overpowering, and incorporating Israel into their kingdom.

Internal crises are frustrating the Israelites. The priestly house of Eli is riddled with corruption. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are “scoundrels; they have no regard for the Lord or for the duties of the priests to the people.” (I Sam. 2:12b-13). Not only do they fatten themselves up on the best part of the sacrificial meat – the part that’s supposed to be reserved for the Lord – they have taken a fancy to sleeping with the women who serve at the tent of meeting.

Imagine discovering that those in authority have “no regard for the Lord” – much less for you.

Imagine knowing that someone is out to invade your home, enslave your family, and murder your future.

Imagine having to ask morning, noon, and night, “how long, O Lord, how long?”

Hophni and Phinehas, and by colluding with them, their father Eli, are betraying the Israelites. But they are also betraying God. So God calls Samuel to speak on behalf of God – to hold the priestly house of Eli to account, to reassure the Israelites of God’s presence and concern, and to pave the way for Israel’s new future.

Samuel’s first task as a prophet of God is to break the bad news to Eli – you and your sons are on your way out. But bad news for Eli is good news for the rest of the Israelites, because clearing out what isn’t working is usually the first step in making room for what can work.

And very soon, “all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord” (I Sam. 3:20).

It is the middle of the twentieth century of our era.

External forces are threatening Vietnam. The Vietnamese people are seeking self-determination, but outside forces, believing that the Vietnamese are not “ready” for independence, expend time, energy, money and lives trying to re-colonize them.

Internal crises are frustrating Americans. The American people are increasingly divided about both wars – the Vietnam war, and the one that is being waged on American soil – the long overdue war against poverty, prejudice and segregation. Many perceive that the external war is being paid for at the expense of the internal one, and the division deepens.

Imagine cutting programs to free persons from the bondage of poverty in order to fund programs to “liberate” persons who didn’t ask for it.

Imagine, in the words of a mid-20th century prophet, seeing white young men and black young men on T.V. in “brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, as we realize that they would never be able to live on the same block in Detroit.” (A Time to Break Silence,” in A Testament of Hope).

Imagine sitting in the balcony of a church and wondering how it is that the color of your skin overrides your status as Christ’s beloved.

In his book, God Has A Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time, Archbishop Desmond Tutu asserts that “one of the most blasphemous consequences of injustice and prejudice is that it can make a child of God doubt that he or she is a child of God. But no one is a stepchild of God. No one.”

Racism is a sin against another human being. But it is also a sin against God.

It says that God is divided within God’s self – that God created superior and inferior human beings, all of whom are in the image of God.

It says that some human beings – not God – are to be placed in the supreme position of judging the worth of God’s children.

It says that God isn’t capable of ruling over God’s creation – so some of us will appoint ourselves as rulers over others.

Racism, as Bishop Tutu reminds us, “is like spitting in the face of God.”

So many of us are not surprised when the Lord calls a young pastor from the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama to hold the people of this great nation to account. That prophet, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminds us that “force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.” (“Loving Your Enemies,” in A Knock at Midnight).

And very soon, most Americans, from California to Maine knew that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

It is the dawn of the twenty-first century of our era.

External forces are threatening most of our world. Natural disasters, terrorism, the threat of nuclear war, the AIDS epidemic, poverty and crime threaten to invade our home, enslave our family and murder our future.

Internal crises are frustrating the church. A fascination with sexuality, the struggle to repair and heat deteriorating buildings, and/or the anxiety of raising adequate funds preoccupy the days and nights of many church leaders, detouring them from the work of spreading the good news of God in Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, Hartford continues to be the second poorest city in the nation.

Meanwhile, only 4% of Hartford’s North End residents have a college degree.

Meanwhile, 48% of those families live on less than $12,000 a year for a family of four –that’s $9 a day per person.

Imagine buying food, paying rent, utilities and transportation costs on $9 a day. Pray that they don’t get sick!

Still, there is good news in all of this. Because, as Dr. King reminds us “the arm of the moral universe is long, but it is bent towards justice.” (“Our God Is Marching On,” in A Testament of Hope.)

For some, like Eli and his sons, like the perpetrators of segregation and racism, God’s justice is bad news. For others, like the Israelites, like the courageous men and women of the Civil Rights Movement, God’s justice is good news. Yes, we have come a long way. And yes, we have a long way to go. But just as there are scoundrels in this world, there are many more people of goodwill.

People of goodwill – men and women, black and white, old and young – are coming together and saying “None of God’s children should be left behind.”

People of goodwill are coming together and saying “We will work to rid the world of its biggest weapons of mass destruction – poverty, hunger and disease.”

People of goodwill are standing with their God, saying “We will no longer betray our despairing brothers and sisters by our silence. No, we will stand up and speak as faithful prophets of God – the God who wants enough food, proper nutrition, adequate healthcare, suitable housing, racial justice, and abundant life not for whites only, or for blacks only, not for the rich only, or for the poor only, not for some only, or for most only, but for all – yes, all of God’s children.”