Back in the autumn of 1952, I took my first New Testament course at the University of Chicago. It was on the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Allen Wikgren was the instructor, an eminent scholar in the Greek New Testament. He, however, was not interested in all our student questions about Jesus Christ, and would avoid discussing them. Finally, he agreed that on the last day of the term, he would give his theological understanding of Jesus.
The day arrived. We waited expectantly. Wikgren arrived, sat at this desk, unzipped is thin briefcase, paged through his Greek New Testament, closed it, put it in his briefcase, and began, “You have been after me all term to be more theological about the meaning of Jesus. So here it is. Jesus was a prophet.” He then stood, picked up his briefcase, and walked out the classroom door.
Wait, professor, come back, we are not done here! We have questions, important questions, like the incarnation, the virgin birth, walking on the water, feeding five thousand, death and resurrection, appearances to the disciples. But Professor Wikgren was gone, leaving us with only, “Jesus was a prophet.”
I’ve thought about that incident many times in the years between, and have concluded that, while there many more things to say about Jesus, perhaps Wikgren was right, perhaps the place to begin, is with Jesus as a prophet, and the rest on top of that. Two aspects of the biblical prophets should help us claim our prophetic vocations. First, the biblical prophets spoke truth to power, and second, biblical prophets received visions of the way that prophets received visions of the way of life God intends. That phrase, speaking truth to power, first appeared in a speech by Bayard Rustin, an early civil rights leader, in 1947. Since them, speaking the truth to power has become the motto of many justice movements.
One might think that the powerful would respect a word of truth, but not so, according to Lord Acton, a nineteenth-century British politician. In a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Acton said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Why so? Because power is like an elixir or intoxicant. The more you have the more you need, the more you require. Lord Acton’s phrase reminds us of the corruptible risks laying in the heart of human nature. The biblical prophets of the Hebrew Bible confronted the corruptions of power in their own days, at great personal risk to themselves.
The second vocation of biblical prophets was receiving and interpreting visions of the way things ought to be. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of the dry bones is one such example.
Ezekiel cried, “Dem dry bones. “ Ezekial cried, “ Dem dry bones.”
Ezekiel cried, “Dem dry bones. Oh, hear the word of the Lord.”
The foot bone connected to the leg bone. The leg bone connected to the knee bone, the knee bone connected to the thigh bone,
Oh, hear the word of the Lord.
The thigh bone connected to the back bone, the back bone connected to the neck bone, the neck bone connected to the head bone,
Oh, hear the word of the Lord.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Oh, hear the word of the Lord.
Our thanks to the composer, James Weldon Johnson, for the tune of Ezekiel’s vision, and to T. Dorothee Johnson, the lyricist who created words for the vision.
The vison of the valley of dry bones coming back to life meant, for Ezekiel and his community, that they would also be set free from captivity in Babylonia to return to their homeland, rebuild their city and temple, and once again celebrate God’s blessings. Prophetic visions were not always that clear, but they were all meant for the healing of the nation. Prophets tell truth to power and receive visions of better days to come.
I conclude with thoughts about how we, as followers of Jesus, are called to be prophets in our time. First, on speaking truth to power. Most of us do not have direct access to people in power. But as I argue in my new book (Have I mentioned my new book, Meditations on Aging, available from Amazon) our prophetic messages to people in power are not lost in the wasteland of unanswered communications. When we call, send an email, write a check, or sign a petition, our messages collected in notes by staff members and conveyed to powerful people. We need to believe that and act accordingly.
Secondly, as prophets today we are called to receive divine visions of a just and compassionate social order, where good stewardship prevails. Sometimes people ask me whether I have any hope in our badly fragmented world, and I always answer that I do find hope, not in a political party or candidate, though those choices matter, but my hope rests in the prophetic vision of a just world. That is where my hope is grounded. I hope it is for you as well. With that foundation we can act with confidence and joy, not despair. Amen.