Pastor’s Corner: Prophecy

I’m writing in advance again…

I wrote the previous Pastor’s Corner three days early, as I’d be busy at the ‘Aha Pae’aina when the deadline arrived. On this occasion, I will be (from your point of view, was) at the UCC’s General Synod (the biennial national gathering) in Baltimore on Deadline Day. In fact, I’m only returning home as The Messenger goes out with the email.

With so much “lead time,” I find myself confronting the truth that I cannot predict the future. The world moves quickly enough that I cannot tell what issues of today will still be current twelve days from now. Looking into the mists of time, what word can I bring that will still ring true to you, my friends of the present, out there in the future?

Well, there’s prophecy.

The Old Testament prophets didn’t see their first role as telling the future. Rather, they strove to declare the will, purposes, and direction of God. When they predicted something would happen, they did so as an announcement of consequences. “If you, the leaders and people of Israel, do this,” they would say, “then this thing will happen.”

So as I sit here nearly two weeks ago (from your point of view), I venture to say this about the will of God: God wants us to care for one another. God wants us to raise up those who cast down. God wants us to see that the hungry eat. God wants us to see that the sick find healing. God wants us to liberate the captives. God wants us to repent our misdeeds. God wants us to forgive the misdeeds of others.

If we (as church, as town, as state, as nation) fail to do these things, we will not experience the full joy of living that God intends for us. We will not experience the fullness of human love.

And God… will be weeping.

Let’s work toward God’s smile instead, well into the future. How about it?

Blessings,

Pastor Eric

The photo comes from the 2013 General Synod in Long Beach, California. Thanks to Neal Washburn for sharing!