Trending
What image comes to mind when you hear the word Prophet? Any time, we think of biblical prophets, such as Moses, Elijah and Isaiah -- all Old Testament figures. Why aren't there more prophets in the New Testament? (Are there?) For that matter, are there any prophets in the world today?
Some people believed Jesus was a prophet, and they wouldn't be wrong. Others think contemporaries such as theologian and priest Richard Rohr, poet Emily Dickinson, social activist Martin Luther King, or even singer/songwriter Bob Dylan fit this bill.
They wouldn't be wrong, either: Each, and many others like them, spoke prophetically about the condition of their world.
Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann writes about "Prophetic Imagination" -- envisioning a new reality, then working to make that vision into reality.
For Christians, this is what Jesus commanded us to do when he said: "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt 28.19).
If we use Brueggemann's idea to do Jesus's command, we would simply imagine what it looks like to make disciples, and then we'd go out and make disciples.
How? Well, we could pass out handbills on the street, stand on a street corner and tell passers-by that "the time is near," we could rent billboards that promote Jesus, we could use politics and try to pass laws that force people to become Christians, and we could even make war with other countries that aren't Christian and assimilate them into our own culture and religion.
Those things never work, and they were never used or condoned by Jesus. Think, how did Jesus change the world? It wasn't through violence, politics, laws, his nation's might, or threats; he changed the world by understanding that it was to have the Father's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That means a world that loves, respects, accepts, forgives, understands, serves, promotes justice and fairness, and practices mercy.
The Old Testament prophets did exactly that: They went out and spoke God's truth of what this world could look like and how, as those who love and serve God, ought to live. They imagined what the future looked like, then they went about to change it.
If we claim to be Christians, then we are all called to the same vision, which is God's vision: To be fruitful and multiply all that God had blessed us with in this world so that it looks like the next. And rather than giving ourselves credit for doing so, all glory goes to God. God invested His love in us and in the world He created, and he gave us free will to bless it with our own hands and hearts. If we did that, then we would be living into the kingdom life He promised us.
So imagine the world as God wants it, then go out and make that imagination into a reality.
-- -- -- --
Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This weeks column comes from Pastor Christopher Passante, the lead pastor at Mount Nittany Church in State College. He can be reached at 814-232-1717 or cpassante@susumc.org.