Prophesy
Acts 2: 1-21
What does “prophesy” mean? We tend to use it to mean “predict the future.” But actually that’s not what it means at all. The ancient prophets sometimes got their predictions wrong. Remember the story of Jonah? He predicts “Yet thirty days, and Nineveh will be destroyed.” He gets angry because in the end God doesn’t do what was predicted. Why? Because the people of Nineveh repented of their evil and turned to God, and so God showed them mercy.
In fact, good prophets hoped they would get it wrong, especially if they were predicting something bad. The whole point of prophesying the worst was to bring out the best in people, to make them change their minds—change direction—repent.
What prophecy really means is to speak the word of God. Period. When we are speaking a true word from God, we’re prophets.
On Pentecost, the apostles announce that the time has come that all God’s people will be prophets. It used to be a unique calling, meant for a select few, but something has changed. Now the new age has dawned, the age that was prophesied when God’s Holy Spirit would at last be united to God’s people, and so no one would need to say to brother or sister, “Know the Lord,” for we shall all know the Lord, from the least to the greatest.
That was predicted by Jeremiah, and other prophets, as coming at a future time. But after the resurrection of Jesus that age has arrived. This is the age in which God’s people’s spirits are united to God’s holy Spirit, and so God’s people can truly speak God’s word. God’s word of love, understanding, truth, and reconciliation. God’s word of judgment, too, if people do not repent.
Note, by the way, that we are being reminded of a promise that was fulfilled almost two thousand years ago. It was fulfilled in the past. But people still need to be reminded of it. People still have a hard time believing that the age when human will is united to God’s has begun. And so, to speak of this event that happened two thousand years ago, and continues to happen now, is still prophetic.
God’s people have a hard time believing this prophetic word. There are good reasons for that. For one thing, we’ve all had enough of people claiming they have a unique claim on God’s truth, especially when they use that claim to shore up their own power and authority and to condemn and mistreat others in a way that we know instinctively is not God’s will. We instinctively know that God does not want us to mistreat the poor, the marginalized, people who are on the outs with society, people who we may view as our enemies, so on and so forth. So we look with suspicion on any “prophet” who says that in the name of God, we are supposed to hate someone, or treat someone as a second-class citizen, or grab power for ourselves. We know this is wrong.
Hm. We have an instinct that tells us that God is a God of love, and reconciliation, and peace, and justice, and mercy; and that judgmentalism and mistreatment of others is wrong. Could it be that this instinct in fact be from God? Could it be proof that God’s Spirit dwells within us?
The apostles prophesy on Pentecost that God’s young people will see visions and God’s older people will dream dreams. What is our vision? What is our dream?
It’s a dream of love fulfilled on earth-of barriers broken down of race and creed and sexual orientation and socio-economic status and color and nationality;
a vision of all people loving one another because God loves us all, and at last everyone knows it, not just a handful;
a vision of people united in work and play in the joy of knowing that God lives with us and in us, and we will all see it, from the least to the greatest.
We dream of and envision a world where God’s justice will rule,
where kings and queens and presidents and congress persons will hand over their authority to the God of love,
where oppression will end and the oppressed will go free, where the weak and the meek will be celebrated rather than denigrated,
where love will be the answer because we have discovered, at last, that god is the answer.
In that world it will truly be proven that Jesus is Lord because in that world we will truly really love our enemy, without fear and without reservation; for until we truly love our enemy, we are still far from loving Jesus.
In that world, we will know that the least of these are the greatest of these, and celebrate them with a whole heart.
And the world will know that the God of love rules, and that Jesus is the Lord of Love,
and everything that hurts and divides us will be gone,
and humanity will be one with nature, and each other, and God.
It’s a beautiful dream, a wonderful vision. People tell us it can’t be done, or that we’re fools to believe it. They even tell us it isn’t Christian. They cow us and shame us into silence. But it’s the Gospel. It’s what the world needs to hear. It’s what the world really needs. Some people may laugh or tell you it’s theologically unorthodox or impractical, but you know what? Even more people will listen. They will hear it with an open heart.
You have this dream and share this vision because God’s Spirit dwells in you, and you have been given the gift of prophecy.
So prophesy.