Prophets Belong in Community
CAC teacher Dr. Barbara Holmes describes our natural resistance to prophets in our midst:
Prophets are difficult to have around. No one wants to claim the title or do the work because of it. In this postmodern age, everybody is uncomfortable with prophets. They yell when you don’t want them to. They ask for trouble when you could avoid it. They don’t have a politically correct bone in their bodies….
Prophets are leaders, but not leaders of their own choosing. Inevitably, they have some sort of divine encounter. A burning bush, a ram in the bush, a call in the night, visions, dreams. They’re quirky and more than a little weird. Take Jeremiah as an example, crying all the time. And Isaiah fasting and lying in the dirt, and John the Baptist eating locusts, and Huldah prophesying doom. Finally, one of the most important characteristics of prophets is that they are dangerous to the system….
In bringing messages from God—and God doesn’t mince words—God speaks directly through them. They have a relationship and intimacy with the Divine. They communicate with God through prayer, direct speech; God walks and talks with them. Maybe not literally but in other ways. They have gifts, and they offer signs and wonders associated with the verification of the presence of God. They have communal connections. They act on behalf of community, not for their own gain, and are dependent on the community for help when they need it.
Holmes emphasizes the communal nature of the prophetic role:
This is a neglected but important aspect of the prophetic call. In Numbers 11:24–29, Moses is exhausted with the people. Basically, God says “Okay, okay, assemble the elders. Look to the community. You were never supposed to do this alone. I told you to do it; I didn’t tell you to do it alone.” How many of us are carrying burdens that are not ours, and we’re feeling pretty righteous about it? The work of living and dying and raising children, leading congregations, was never meant to be solitary work. So after the elders assemble, Joshua tells Moses that the elders are prophesying, and he says, “Moses, make this stop!” And Moses’ reply in Numbers 11:29 is, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that God would put God’s Spirit on them!”
Let’s just sit with that for a minute. Have you ever felt as if God’s Spirit was on you? Although many of the prophets in the Bible are presented as single carriers of God’s word, often there was a community of other prophets that they came from or were associated with. And so, who is your community? … If you’re called to the prophetic task, and I think in some aspects all of us are—where is your prophetic community that will feed you and support you and guide you and help you?
THE DIVINE HOURS
A form of prayer at specified times to be used by individuals or groups. The Divine Hours includes morning, midday, vespers (evening) and compline (before retiring) offices, having roots in the biblical tradition. By default the Divine Hours below is displayed based on Eastern Standard Time, U.S. You can use these links to view in another U.S. timezone: CST | MST | PST
Other time zones will be added as requested.
You may find it helpful to read the introduction by the author, Phyllis Tickle.
The Morning Office
To Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour Between 6 and 9 a.m.
The Call to Prayer
Love the LORD, all you who worship him;* the LORD protects the faithful, but repays to the full those who act haughtily.
Psalm 31:23
The Request for Presence
Early in the morning I cry out to you,* for in your word is my trust.
Psalm 119:147
The Greeting
â??You are my God, and I will thank you;* you are my God, and I will exalt you.â??
Psalm 118:28
The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Our help is in the Name of the LORD,* the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 124:8
A Reading
Of John the Baptizer it is written: â??When the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, â??Who are you?â?? He declared, he did not deny but declared, â??I am not the Christ . . . I am, as Isaiah prophesied: A voice of one that cries out in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make his paths straight.â?? Now those who had been sent were Pharisees, and they put this question to him, â??Why are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the Prophet?â?? John answered them, â??I baptize with water, but standing among youâ??unknown to youâ??is the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandal.â?? This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.â??
John 1:19â??20, 23â??28
The Refrain
Our help is in the Name of the LORD,* the maker of heaven and earth.
The Morning Psalm
Tremble, O Earth, at the Presence of the LORD
Hallelujah! When Israel came out of Egypt,* the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech, Judah became Godâ??s sanctuary* and Israel his dominion. The sea beheld it and fled;* Jordan turned and went back. The mountains skipped like rams,* and the little hills like young sheep. What ailed you, O sea, that you fled?* O Jordan, that you turned back? You mountains, that you skipped like rams?* you little hills like young sheep? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,* at the presence of the God of Jacob, Who turned the hard rock into a pool of water* and flint-stone into a flowing spring.
Psalm 114
The Refrain
Our help is in the Name of the LORD,* the maker of heaven and earth.
The Cry of the Church
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Prayer Appointed for the Week
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Concluding Prayer of the Church
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your pur- pose; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.â?
The Divine Hours are reprinted here with permission of Doubleday and Phyllis Tickle. Not for distribution without permission from the author.
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The Divine Hours © Copyright 2003 Phyllis Tickle www.phyllistickle.com
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