I guess it is fair to say that less than one in ten Protestant ministers are leaders––people with a vision for ministry. How about this for a vision—to so preach and teach and witness that people will come to know the Living God.
When I read a newspaper, often I feel helpless. Isaiah felt much the same way. His nation had suffered a succession of evil kings, but King Uzziah had been a notable exception. Now he was dead, and Isaiah felt lost.
Like the Ownby’s farm, which no longer exists, the nation of Israel had ceased to be a viable, living community. The Ownbys probably died off or moved to another location. The Israelites, however, had turned away from God.
If you are the parent of a rebellious child, Hosea is not your favorite book in the Bible. It is filled with dysfunction. “When Israel was a child,” God says to his beleaguered prophet Hosea, “I loved him.” If you’ve had a wayward child, you know what God means.
One of my most terrifying moments was the time I lost my grandson. We were shopping at the mall. I was in a panic. My daughter said, “I think I know where he is." Sure enough, he was in a children’s store, watching a video. The message of Ezekiel the prophet was that the people of God are never lost.
Only a couple days ago I came to realize the lesson that Margaret taught us. It was this: She kept us from taking ourselves too seriously. She taught this by her life, and this is a good and holy lesson for us to learn, and to relearn many times.
Recently, I had a conversation with a group of elders about a death they’d had in their church. One of the elders said, “It took us by surprise. We were totally unprepared.” It shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
Isaiah’s job was to bring a word from God to God’s people Israel. A prophet was like a barometer to gauge what he or she saw going on in society, checking to make sure that the people were faithfully following the law of Yahweh. Isaiah did that with vigor.
One morning, early, Jeremiah feels a finger poking him in the shoulder. “Jeremiah, Jeremiah, wake up. Come on, wake up. I’ve got a job for you… Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words. Come.”