Prophets of Peace

This sermon was given at our Sunday morning service on 5th December 2021, the third Sunday of Advent. The service was also our annual toy service, in which we donate new toys to charity for Christmas presents. The Gospel was Luke 3:1-6.

What do you think of when you picture a prophet? Maybe your mind is turned to the ancient Greeks and of Cassandra – the doomed prophet cursed to always predict the future, but never be believed until she uttered her last, tragic prediction of her own death.

Maybe you picture something like The Seer from the History Channel’s ‘Vikings’ series; a cowled, disfigured old blind man, who talks in riddles, stating that the nature of prophecy is “only to be understood when it has happened, and it is too late to change it”.

Or, perhaps you think of a man like John the Baptist in our Gospel reading from Luke today; a wild man, wearing camel hides who eats locusts and wild honey, crying out in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.

Throughout Advent, each Sunday we light a new candle on our Advent wreath. Depending on who you speak to, these candles symbolise different things. Normally in the Church of England we use them to remind us of those who prepared for Christ’s coming. Last week’s candle was for the Patriarchs – our fathers and mothers in faith who have gone before, and next week’s (the pink candle) is used to remember John the Baptist, so – if you’ll forgive me – I’ll not preach much on our Gospel reading today – let’s not get ahead of ourselves; Christmas seems to come earlier every year, so let’s not rush onto Advent 3 just yet!

Today our candle reminds us of the prophets; those who cried out to prepare the way of the Lord. We think of prophets as future-predictors. If you’ve ever moved in Charismatic Christian circles, or caught the God channel on TV, you might even have heard some preachers who claim the title today. I’d offer a word of caution about listening too hard to some of these people though – especially those who confidently prophesied a Trump 2020 win against Joe Biden (interestingly, the Bible advocates some pretty strong and harsh punishment for prophets whose predictions prove to be false…)

Modern ‘prophets’ often get away with false predictions; they will state we the listener did not understand, or they will pick up on some nuance or twist as to how what they predicted did in fact come true (or still will). They say, rather than their prophecy being false, that we simply haven’t understood the prophecy. 

I think the problem though, is not that the listeners have misunderstood any individual prophecy, it’s that these ‘prophets’ have misunderstood the actual act of prophecy itself. 

You see, Biblical prophecy is not about predicting the future.

Biblical prophecy is primarily not about foretelling, it’s about forth-telling.

Biblical prophecy is not about magically predicating something before it happens; it’s about telling forth a message from God. Or about God.

Biblical prophecy is not about foretelling, it’s about forth-telling.

Prepare the way of the Lord, say the prophets.

There’s another tradition of meaning for these Advent candles. They also symbolise four virtues to meditate upon during Advent. As well as the Patriarchs, the first candle symbolises Hope. Huw’s sermon on Searching last week linked in with this; if you have no hope, you do not search. Someone who is searching is – by definition – hopeful that they will find what they are looking for. Next week’s pink candle represents Joy, and the candle for Advent 4 reminds us of Love.

But this week, as well as the Prophets, our second Advent candle symbolises Peace.

And in this season of Advent, I think prophecy and peace are intrinsically linked.

Peace. It was the message of the angels to the shepherds. It was their prophecy. Peace on Earth. It is the Advent-promise of the coming Messiah, our Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The world needs peace. It wants it. We wish it for each other consistently in our Christmas cards year after year. Being a peace-maker, and not just a peace-keeper – is a prophetic act. It conveys something true about Christ, and about God, whose ways are ways of righteousness, and whose paths are peace.

This morning we have brought our offering of toys for Wood Street Mission and for Trafford Domestic Abuse Services  It’s a very appropriate day for us to do this, as today, as well as being Advent 2, it is also St Nicholas’ Day  But… that is not the main reason I believe today to be a particularly appropriate day for our offering. You may not realise it, but our offering today is an Advent 2 act. It is act of peace; a prophetic peace-making act. For our gifts today are not just toys for children who may not have much (or even anything) this Christmas, but they are also a gift of peace for their parents and carers; a gift that promises peace of mind to someone who knows a child they love and care for will have at least one present this year to show that love. What better day is there to bring these toys? A prophetic day proclaiming peace on earth.

So, let me come back to my initial question – what do you think of when you picture a prophet? In Advent, I picture people who work for peace, who tell – or bring – it forth. In Advent, when I picture a prophet, I picture you. 

And so, as you go out today, and you are blessed by Huw to go – in peace – to love and to serve the Lord, may you remember your prophetic calling to prepare the way of the Lord; the way of peace.

Amen