Malachi 3: 1-4; For
the Psalm: Canticle 4; Philippians
1: 3–11; Luke
3: 1-6
This is a homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, which was given
at St. John’s Church, Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania on Sunday, December 6, 2015.
“CALLED
TO BE PROPHETS”
(Homily texts:
Canticle 4 (Benedictus, Dominus
Deus) & Luke 3: 1-6)
Each year, on the Second Sunday of
Advent, we get to spend a little time thinking about John the Baptist. Our
Collect for this day alludes to his ministry, which was a ministry that called
people to recognize their sins and their need for God’s forgiveness. (More
about all that in a moment.)
In place of the Psalm, this morning
we pray Canticle[1]
Four, which is often called the “Song of Zechariah”. In Latin, its title is Benedictus, Dominus Deus, and it is one
of the traditional Canticles which are appointed for use during the Office of
Morning Prayer.
In fact, each morning when I pray
Morning Prayer, I pray this Canticle. A phrase[2]
always sticks out when I do so:
“And
thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go
before the Lord to prepare his ways.”
Not to be too personal about it, but
I feel like that text is speaking to me.
Each time I read the phrase, I feel like the words are leaping off the
page and into my eyes, my mind and my heart. I feel as though I am called to be
a prophet, a forerunner, of the Lord, one who – like John the Baptist –
prepares the way for the One who is coming.
I said, “Not to be too personal
about it” because, in truth, every one of us is called to be a prophet of the
Highest. Every one of us is called to bear witness to God’s great, big plan, a
plan which is offered to all people. This great, big plan is one which offers
each and every person a new start in life, a new beginning in which God gives
us a new birth in the waters of baptism.
In response to God’s call to be a
prophet, we might protest. We might say, “Well, I don’t much like wearing a
coat made of camel’s hair (John the Baptist’s attire),” and we might add, “I
don’t much like a diet of locusts and wild honey (John’s diet).” Furthermore, we might say that we don’t much
like hanging out in the desert like John did.
In truth, some of those who are
called to be prophets are called to do just what John the Baptist did. Some are
called to give up their previous life and their previous way of living in order
to go to some pretty inhospitable places, in order to share the Good News, the
Gospel, of Jesus Christ.
But most of us won’t receive such a
calling. Most of us are called to pave the way for the Lord right where we are,
day in and day out. We are called to
bring the kingdom of God into being, one act, one word, one loving gesture, at
a time.
By so doing, we bear witness to the
overwhelming love of God, a love that accepts us as we are, right where God
finds us, but which is a love that never leaves us where we are found. For such
an encounter with the living God changes us and everything about us for ever.
As a result of this encounter, we
find our truest and best selves, we find our highest purpose in life, knowing
that God has called us into a personal and ongoing relationship, knowing that
we have been redeemed by Christ.
And so, those who have passed
through the waters of baptism are called, for God says to each one of us:
“And
thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the highest, for thou shalt go
before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.”
Thanks be to God for His deep and
abiding love, for His forgiveness of our sins and offenses, and for His call to
be His prophets in our time and in our place.
AMEN.
[1] A Canticle is a passage of Scripture which
lends itself to be set to music, hence the name, which suggests the singing of
the text. There are quite a few of them
in Luke’s gospel account. The Magnificat
(Song of Mary) (see Luke 1: 46 – 55) and the Nunc Dimittis (Song of Simeon) (see Luke 2: 29 – 32) are other
examples.
[2] This Canticle records the comments of John
the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, who was a priest serving in the temple in
Jerusalem.
