18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among
your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.
18:16 This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the
assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever
again see this great fire, I will die."
18:17 Then the LORD replied to me: "They are right in what they have said.
18:18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will
put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I
command.
18:19 Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I
myself will hold accountable.
18:20 But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in
my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak--that prophet shall
die."
Starting a bit early here. 18:20 But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods,
or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to
speak--that prophet shall die." I never connected the risen Christ with this verse
before. I am not sure what it means this particular sunday yet, but this certainly has
meaning for Easter. Nancy-Wi
What a sharp contrast there is between this view of authority and the authority with
which Jesus amazed the people of his day. Jesus clamed no credentials, nor did he coerce
others to listen to him out of fear of wrath for breaking the rules by not listening to
him. Jesus alowed the truth of his words to power of his message. It makes me think we
should be skeptical of those who claim a power so unlike Jesus.
If "prophet" is interpreted as modern-day "preacher" then this word
puts quite a responsibility on us who week after week seek to have a word from God for our
people. Perhaps this is a good word for us preachers to remember the significance of God's
holy word! I know that Rick in VA will agree with this statement (lol). . .
It strikes me that one should begin with verse 14 which is a prohibition against the
"detestable practices" of the canaanites. It is against this background that the
people are promised the gift of prophets who will tell them God's word. The early church
described Jesus as "The Prophet" who fulfilled this promise. What are the
spiritual practices that serve to seduce us in the 21st century? How do we guard against
their seduction?
Lewis
There is a vast difference between "preacher" and the prophet of whom the O.
T. references speak. Only a few arise as prophet--but the prophetic voice can be heard by
us as we understand its relevance to the people to whom it was directed. It is
presumptious for us to think of ourselves as prophets in the O.T. sense, yet hopefully we
all reflect the voice of the radical prophet whom we name the Christ. JinPA
A prophet is not a paid minister. If you are a prophet you don't get paid, and you
don't get appreciated. Ask Jesus, ask Jeremiah. We should be careful how we use the
scripture to reflect on our own vocation. Our primary professional vocation is parson: in
modern parlance: person. To be a faithful person, to show it can be done, to encourage
others to do it. It is not as grandiose as prophet, but it's more honest for those of us
who get paid, and keeps us form a conflict of interest.
raising dust where ever I go Hugh in Gaspé Quebec
Gee Hugh, I thought some pastors speak prophetically? PH in OH
Two weeks ago I used my prophetic voice to talk about the voices we hear - God's voice
- the 3 voices that were heard in the lectionary - Samuel's Call - Jesus calling the
disciples - God's voice - in the Psalms and how they relate to our world today. That
Sunday I was confronted by two members of the laity who heard something differently than I
intended to say - ie I did not have faith in our government and I did not believe that war
was necessary - Even though I believe that peace and reconciliation are what is called for
in this situation, I never said that nor anything even remotely attached to it. Again this
last Sunday same thing. I am torn with what all of the scriptures are leading me this week
and how they pertain to the voice of the prophet and who we are as pastors. Pastors can
be/are prophets too! To be a prophet is to exhort the revealed word of God. Are we as
preachers only to preach the "good news" in a format that is palatable - the
warm and fuzzies? Or are we to be about preaching the good news of kingdom building which
sometimes calls use our prohetic voices and preach the Word of God that may be contrary to
our parishioners beliefs? This was meant to be rhetorical. The prophet is never heard in
his/her own land, but we need be mindful of what we prophesy - the admonishments for
preaching is likewise: Gal 1:9 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone
preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (NKJV)
We receive God's word in identical manners - prayer,conversations, visions, dreams, etc.
This week should be challenging. Pastor P
As this passage comes up on the first Sunday of Black History Month, I am struck by the prophetic witness the historically black churches have offered to the Christian tradition in this country. Christians in the black churches have spoken and lived and been accountable for the Word of God for centuries, even while many other Christians ignored and still ignore the Bible's basic call to justice. Now, to put all this into a sermon that my people might hear!
Pastor in NY
Probably be good to bring in Deut 34:10-12, in which Joshua or someone comments that--to that point in time, no prophet had arisen like Moses, and then lists aspects of such a prophet. Definitely Messianic. Could just go inductively, start by talking about how great Moses was, and then something like, "And there was another prophet like Moses..."
I preached it as a Christmas sermon, actually
Rabbi in IL
I'm intrigued by the "from among you" phrase. It seems that the congregation I serve as an inferiority complex. "Oh we can't come up with something new on our own thats what cokesbury is for..." "we can share christ with others thats what the pastor is for... "we can't..."
When i look back on my own journey with Christ more often then not it was the conversion in the narthex with another "little ol' parishoner" that made the largest impact on my life in christ. And as i look back on them many of those moments were prophetic in nature. sometimes the Narthex is really the sanctuary. and my congregation needs to hear they have permission to be in ministry for the kingdom of god. "God will raise one from among you"
Just some thought late in the week
Mark in SW Washington
