ON SAINTS & PROPHETS

Prophet Elijah Praying on Mt. Carmel in Front of his Altar

Last Sunday, on All Saints Day, Pr. Ben reminded us that all of us who are gathered in churches everywhere are saints … and sinners.  All? Everyone? Yes.  “Saint” is the St. Paul’s term for the followers of Christ, living and dead alike. 

Thus it made total sense for us to celebrate All Saints Day in a less somber manner.  Contrary to other years, we did not read the names of Bethel members who had passed away over the previous 12 months (as Vera Finstad was the only one who had passed on), but instead remembered all those Christians who were died because of their faith, their race, gender, malnutrition, preventable illnesses, or other reasons.  If you missed the video we watched in our worship services, you can still do so on here. 

Additionally, we had eight guests who delighted us with their music and dancing – the New Life Band from Arusha, Tanzania. It was wonderful to be reunited with four old acquaintances and make four new friends.  If you missed the worship services and the New Life Band concert in the afternoon, you can watch a short video of their performance here.

This Sunday, we won’t here about saints, but listen to a well-known Biblical prophet – Elijah.  He is known for bein on the run from the wrath of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, for miracles that he performed, for being on Mount Horeb and listening to God’s “still small voice,” for being lifted into heaven by way of a fiery chariot, and for engaging in a prayer contest with a bunch of pagan priests (1 Kings 18).  In short, Elijah lived a rather colorful, rich life.

After deconstructing, if you will, the term “saint”, it is helpful to also note the way the Bible uses the term “prophet.”  As we already saw, the Bible uses the term “saint” in a very different manner than our culture uses it. Saints are not those people who are particularly holy or virtuous, but all who put their trust in Jesus Christ.

Similarly, prophets are not those who can predict the future through some secret gift or a crystal ball.  Rather, prophets are those followers of God who know God’s law and who can read the present time in light of God’s law. Prophets are those individuals who can acutely see how their contemporaries stray from God’s will. Prophets are those individuals who acutely understand and publicly point out the mistreatment of the most vulnerable in society (widows, orphans, immigrants) and the way pagan worship has penetrated the worship of the ancient people of Israel.

So, if men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Elijah were prophets in this sense, are we not called to a similar prophetic ministry in our current time?