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Monday, December 12, 2005 “Do not despise the prophets, but test everything. . . .” Earlier in this letter Paul thanks the Thessalonians (2: 13) because “you received the word of God that you heard from us [Paul and his companions]. . . not as a human word but as . . . God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.” The best of all Christian preaching is prophecy; it is the word of God. A preacher/ prophet’s message is not self-authenticating as the word of God, but is known as it does its work in the believers who hear it. So we “do not despise the prophets, but test everything.” How do we test the prophets we meet with today? Paul alludes to prophets whose words do not meet the test early in chapter two of Thessalonians. Paul speaks of those whose words spring from “deceit, impure motives or trickery.” Words that “please mortals,” “words of flattery” may be words of false prophecy. When Paul mentions supposed prophetic words that are really “a pretext for greed,” one thinks of the fortunes that are made by the so-called televangelists. When a certain televangelist recently called for the political assassination of an elected foreign head of state, I heard of a cartoon circulating depicting this supposed prophet wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “Who would Jesus Assassinate?” The cartoonist tested the words of this would-be prophet and found them wanting. I remember words that did meet the test of true prophecy. Paul describes how he delivered God’s words to the Thessalonians “like a [wet] nurse tenderly caring for her own children . . . ,” and I remember Pastor Tom Garnhart’s sermon to the congregation at University United Methodist Church when the Bishop ordered an end to an important ministry of our congregation, the blessing of same-gender unions. From the lectionary he read, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (I Peter 4:12) At once he acknowledged the power of our denomination to attack our identity and ministry, and our congregation’s shock and grief at this assault, which, in retrospect, marked the beginning of a new wave of homophobic repression in the United Methodist Church--a growing struggle that continues to this day. Paul also describes bringing the word of God to the Thessalonians as one who “dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you . . .” I think of Pastor Dianne Reistroffer who encouraged me in my mid 40’s to begin work on a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies that I finally completed at age 51. It was the fulfillment of a dream frustrated decades earlier, and has equipped and emboldened me in my work with the church. “Do not despise the prophets, but test everything . . .” What words comfort us and build us up? What words open us to do our part in the ongoing creative work of God in the world? These are the words that meet the test of true prophecy. Steve Webster All contents copyright 2003 by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action. Permission is granted to United Methodist congregations, individuals and groups to reproduce and distribute this devotional without charge. All other use requires the advance permission of the editor.
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