Prophetic Ministry

The prophets, Haggai & Zechariah, encouraged people to rebuild the temple, after returning from exile, and faced opposition and discouragement (Ez. 5.1). In the New Covenant, such temple imagery is transferred to the body: Christ’s physical body in history (Jn. 2.19-21), and his body now in the church (1 Co. 3.16 & 2 Co. 6.16).

Of all the spiritual gifts, however, it is only prophecy which is said to “build up” (edify) the church (1 Co. 14.4-5) – although all gifts are for the “common good” (1 Co. 12.7). Prophecy gives the assurance that God is present, and is speaking (1 Co. 14.24); whether manifested in charismatic utterances or anointed preaching.

Roofworks

‘Roofworks’, in a church context, usually means repairing leaky roofs. But under conditions of quarantine, it sometimes takes a more creative turn.

Ministry in this Viral Spring

In January we held a Week of Prayer and Fasting for 2020. Little did we know what this year held in store for us. During our daily prayer meetings, people shared several words of prophecy. One was that spiritual gifts would be released, like seeds, which would grow and flower in our church. What do we make of these words now, in April, after Covid? Was it all just naïve spiritual optimism?

Another word, which my wife received recently, is that this is a ‘strange spring’. Certainly so. But in that spring, I can already see signs of spiritual gifts growing. Before the crisis, we struggled to get people into small groups. Now, we have gone from four to fourteen small groups, all online – some large (12), some small (4).

Crying over Corona

I have seen some Christian preachers online, who are calling this Covid-19 epidemic a sign of God’s judgment on the world. Another group, among which I suspect I sometimes fall, don’t go that far. They just say it’s a sowing and reaping of what we have produced in our way of life.

The problem is that, whether true or not, there is a gleeful delight in many of these commentators; an apparent pleasure in the disaster, a satisfaction that sinners are getting their comeuppance. But the proper stance of the prophet is to weep.

Prophecy and the Virus

What is the calling of a prophet in times like these? Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann suggests the prophetic ministry has two facets: criticising and energising. When the regime is most stable and prosperous, the prophet’s vocation was to point out the rot within the system, the injustice and oppression, which went on, often in the name of the religion. However, when times were hard, and the nation was in exile, it was prophet’s task to articulate hope, and the sense of the future, to indicate God’s new beginning, his new creation, for the nation.

The Imminence of God

Transcendence and immanence are two words often juxtaposed, to express paradoxical qualities of Divinity: his otherness, distance, and holiness - versus his closeness, love and indwelling. These doctrinal stances are reflected in different styles of spirituality and corporate worship – the majesty and awe of liturgy or grand hymnody, contrasted with the intimacy and fervour of charismatic gifts or revivalist ecstasy.

Another word, happily rhyming with Immanence, is ‘Imminence’: the Imminence of God. Fundamentalist doctrine often emphasises the ‘imminent’ second coming of Christ – however long it is in the waiting (2 Pe. 3.3-9), it is always ‘imminent’, just around the corner. And indeed, we must always be ready (the ‘Left Behind’ books notwithstanding). As the Rabbis said, every moment is equidistant from the Messiah: he could come any time. Many evangelistic sermons have played on the same plea, to be ready when he comes, like the ‘thief in the night’ (Matt. 24.43).

Prophecy For Today

“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Amos 5.24

I remember when I was a student, and noticed this verse for the first time. It helped me realise that God’s Word was not just spiritual, but also political. It also revealed the nature of the prophetic calling, the means whereby God warns his people of impending judgment for their injustice (3.7-8).

Naturally, the ruling class never wants to hear this word of Divine correction, so prophecy is frequently forbidden (2.11-12). But God challenged prophecy’s domestication by a caste of professional prophets, through calling this ex-shepherd (7.14-16).

Why "Jeremiad"?

A Jeremiad is defined as a "long mournful complaint or lamentation; a list of woes". Based on the prophecies of Jeremiah, especially the Book Lamentations (ascribed, wrongly, by tradition, to him), the term also denotes a literary genre, where one berates the contemporary world and its decadence.

I therefore thought it an appropriate title for my new blog, in which to indulge my pessimism and negative take on the world. Jeremiah’s ministry was a faithful, countercultural, protest against the apostasy and injustice of a society which had abandoned the covenant with Yahweh.