- The Prophet
No one thought more about what it meant to be a prophet, or what it was like to be a prophet, than Abraham Heschel, a 20th century American rabbi. I was fortunate to have read a lot of Abraham Heschel when I was in seminary, and I still re-read his writings on occasion.
From Heschel, I learned this: Prophets were not like other people.Their hearts and minds were tuned to a different frequency.
Things that other people could overlook, a prophet would be obsessed by. Other people might tell the prophet, “just let it go,” but a prophet could not let it go.
And any form of injustice against God’s people was nothing short of a catastrophe in the prophet’s eyes. Especially if the injustice was ignored or perpetuated by those who could do something about it.
The inconsistency was glaring to the prophet. If you were in a position to right a wrong, to correct an injustice, but you refused to do so, the prophet would come after you again and again and again. The prophet would not give up. The prophet was persistent.
Maybe you know someone like that. Maybe, at times, they drive you crazy with their persistence, with their inability to let things go.
That’s what it’s like to be in the presence of a prophet.
It wasn’t that long ago that I preached on the prophet Amos. I hesitate to preach on Amos again, so soon.
But Amos did not hesitate to proclaim God’s justice - over and over - to those in charge. He would proclaim God’s justice until the people got it right; until the rulers got it right; until the wrongs were righted and justice was established. And if that never happened, then Amos would never stop proclaiming his message of justice. A prophet never gives up.
2. The Message
The greatest injustice in the prophet’s eyes was the unequal distribution of wealth. Every society has rich people and poor people. Sometimes the gap between the rich and the poor isn’t so great; and sometimes that gap is huge.
When the gap between rich and poor was huge or growing, the prophets spoke out. When the poor were neglected or abandoned, and when economic policy favored the wealthy, the prophets spoke out.
In the history of ancient Israel and ancient Judah, when the gap between the rich and the poor wasn’t so great, and the poor were cared for, archaeologists have found no prophetic writings. There were no prophets, because there didn’t need to be any prophets. The poor were cared for. Justice was present.
But when the gap between rich and poor grew, and the poor were neglected, and economic policy favored the rich and penalized the poor… in those times, God called prophets to speak against the injustice. In those times, the prophets were active.
And the prophets didn’t feel they had a choice. Because they were so in tune with God’s desire for justice, they could not keep silent. When the rulers begged the prophets to just let it go, the prophets couldn’t. Not even if they wanted to.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote that being a prophet brought him ridicule, insult and injury. And Jeremiah thought to himself, “I don’t need this. I’ll forget about God and God’s call to justice. I’ll no longer speak in God’s name.” But when Jeremiah tried this, he realized that there was an intense fire within, trapped in his bones. It took more strength than he had to try to contain it. He was unable to. He had no choice; he had to proclaim God’s call for justice.
3. Modern Prophet
Greta Thunberg is a modern-day prophet. She describes herself as a 16 year-old climate activist with Aspergers.
She considers her Aspergers a gift. Some would even say it’s her superpower. And I do wonder if many of God’s prophets had Aspergers, or something like it. For some reason, it is a lot easier for neurotypical people to overlook the injustices of the world, to let things go, but prophets cannot, and Greta Thunberg cannot. She’s said she doesn’t understand why people who have the ability and the means to act on climate change refuse to do so. It literally makes no sense to her. The inconsistency baffles her.
So she calls the world’s leaders to task. And she’s not beating around the bush. At the World Economic Forum, she chastised the leaders attending for arriving by private jet to talk about climate change.
And to the United Kingdom Members of Parliament, she said: “You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before. Like now. And those answers don’t exist any more. Because you did not act in time.”
Then, just this week, she spoke to members of the U.S. Congress, who praised her and asked her what they should do. She said: “Please save your praise. We don’t want it. Don’t invite us here to just tell us how inspiring we are without actually doing anything about it because it doesn’t lead to anything.
“If you want advice for what you should do, invite scientists, ask scientists for their expertise. We don’t want to be heard. We want the science to be heard.”
And then she said: “I know you are trying but just not hard enough. Sorry.”
And the politicians put up with her, and they celebrate her, without taking seriously what she’s actually saying. Maybe it’s because she’s 16. Or maybe it’s because that’s how prophets are treated. Many are still treating Martin Luther King, Jr. that way - celebrating him without taking seriously the message he proclaimed… So who knows...
4. Climate Justice
What would Amos say about climate change? Is climate change even an issue Amos would say anything about? Isn’t Amos - and all the other biblical prophets - just concerned with how we are treating the poor?
Well, consider this. According to recent studies cited in several different journals, rising sea levels are causing gentrification in places like Miami. There, richer residents are buying houses in traditionally poorer areas that sit on higher ground; the land values and rents in those areas go up as a result, forcing the poor to seek affordable housing elsewhere, in areas where flooding is more common. So as the seas rise, the rich will be spared much of the consequences, but the poor will be the first to drown.
Another example from here in California: as you know, climate change has already made our wildfires more frequent and more devastating. In some of the worst, recent wildfires in our state, some of the firefighters fighting the fires were hired by insurance companies to protect only the houses of those able to afford their services. While everything else burns around them, the estates of wealthy homeowners are sprayed with flame retardant and surrounded by fire-breaking trenches.
It’s another example of how the poor suffer the most from climate change. So when the rich deny climate change or refuse to act on climate change, they are committing class warfare against the poor.
And the number of poor people will increase because of climate change. And they will become even more impoverished because of climate change.
And I am certain that this is something that Amos would speak out against.
The condemnation the Bible has for the rich who work hard to improve their own situation at the expense of the poor is extensive. The Bible never relents on this theme.
In Luke 6, Jesus says “woe to you who are rich.” And preachers like myself often try to soften the harshness of that pronouncement. But a true prophet would not. A true prophet would say it like it is. A true prophet would call out the rich for their sin. A true prophet would call out the leaders who refuse to act on climate change.
The Biblical call to care for the poor goes back to the instructions God gave to Israel through Moses. In Deuteronomy 24, we find this command: “Whenever you are reaping the harvest of your field and you leave some grain in the field, don’t go back and get it. Let it go to the immigrants, the orphans and the widows… When you beat the olives off your olive trees, don’t go back over them twice. Let the leftovers go to the immigrants, the orphans, and the widows. Again, when you pick the grapes of your vineyard, don’t pick them over twice. Let the leftovers go to the immigrants, the orphans, and the widows.”
What this means is that, according to God’s teachings, profit is to be sacrificed for the sake of the poor, so that they might be cared for and receive what they need. We see this actually put into practice in the book of Ruth - Boaz orders his workers to leave those leftovers for her, and to not mistreat her.
An immigrant or a poor person is entitled to the same respect and the same dignity as any other person. This is God’s command. As Karen Gonzalez says in her book The God Who Sees, “All the people in the margins of society… have the right to simply walk onto a field and begin to work for their livelihood.” It’s a guaranteed job. It’s a guaranteed minimum income.
So to extract every penny that you can in the name of profit without ensuring that the poor are provided for goes against God’s command. It is offensive to God.
And isn’t that what the wealthy are doing today in regards to climate change? They refuse to sacrifice any of their profit - or, they only sacrifice as little as possible, and not make any real, significant change - because every penny of profit for them is more important to them than the survival of the world’s poor.
In the words of Amos, these leaders “have sold the innocent for silver, and those in need for a pair of sandals. They crush the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way.”
5. A Sign of Hope
For these reasons, real change is not going to come from our leaders in government, or from the CEOs whose companies are the primary source of greenhouse gases. Real change will come from the people. Real change will come from when we use our power to vote for leaders who are more likely to listen to our concerns, and more likely to listen to the world’s scientists. Real change will come only when we cause a big enough disruption in the lives of leaders and billionaires, that it forces them to take notice.
Which is what the prophets of today are doing.
And that’s why I celebrate the leadership of people like Greta Thunberg, and the millions who have joined her in this week’s Climate Strike, demanding that our leaders take action now.
The prophets among us are speaking. They are demanding justice. They are demanding that we do what is right. Even if it means making major changes in how we live, how we eat, what we drive…
The prophets among us are a persistent source of aggravation to those who insist on keeping the status quo and who are resistant to their calls for justice and action. Yet they are also a source of hope, a sign that God has not yet given up on this world, on humanity - a sign that we may yet make the right choice.
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