The problem, of course, is identification. The reading suggested this week from the Hebrew scriptures listens in on a portion of the briefing given to the people of Israel about the days ahead of them. "Do this; don't do that. etc." It is cast as a sort of tutorial on how to live and what to expect when they eventually settle into their destination. And, in what strikes me as a prescient anticipation of the kind of eventual ambiguity that can lead either into mischief or paralysis, the people are told that "God will raise up for you a prophet...from among your own people. I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak...everything I command" (Deuteronomy 18:18).
Great! We can all relax now.
Except, wait! How will we know him? Or her? We are surrounded by people -- all kinds of people -- claiming the voice of truth. They only problem is that they don't seem to agree on what that "truth" is. Which helps explain how it is that we have been down this road countless times before -- listening to one after another of those "truths" that promised to lead us out of the woods, only to find ourselves deeper into the thicket. The current crop of Presidential contenders comes to mind; as does that bicameral brothel known as the United States Congress that seems unable to recognize a point of principal that isn't written on the back of a significant campaign contribution.
Authentic prophets, it turns out, don't wear fluorescent jump suits, carry indisputable credentials in their wallet, or garner the highest number of votes. Or poll ratings. And they usually don't seek out the camera...or votes.
In fact, if I read the record right they are usually the ones who find themselves, typically against their own wishes, telling us what we don't want to hear. This being a democratic society, we typically opt not to hear it, opting to drop another quarter in the jukebox and make a different selection. If we are in a church when we hear what we would rather not hear, we simply change churches. If we are listening to the radio or watching television we simply change the channel. "Fair and Balanced", after all, is really in the ear of the beholder; commonly defined as "does it agree with what I already believe."
That's the problem with voluntary associations: we typically choose to voluntarily associate with whatever it is or whoever it is that validates my previously held conceptions.
Which makes "speaking the word of the Lord" a pretty dicey business, unless God has previously taken a poll and determined in advance what the "truth" of the Lord ought to be. Alternatively, on the off-chance that people really would like to know the mind of God if only we could reliably identify the messenger, maybe God should consider that whole florescent jumpsuit idea.
As long as it isn't orange. I mean, you know how I feel about orange. How, after all, could you take seriously a prophet wearing a florescent orange jump suit?
1 comment:
You know?, I, in my past, sometimes commented on the failure of people that wanted to be non-conformist. My observation was that in desiring not to conform, to the status quo, for instance, became conformists to nothing less than, the greater minority. Congratulations on being a true non-conformist.
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