Deacon Leah Sandwell-Weiss

Dear friends,

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Collect above concerning prophets is the one we heard yesterday on the Second Sunday of Advent and will hear the remainder of this week. Why now?

I don’t have a precise answer to this question, but I have an idea.

During Advent we hear a lot of prophesies, both ones like Isaiah’s, as in today’s Old Testament reading, but also from New Testament Gospel writers and Paul. These prophets we hear from in Advent time are foretelling the coming of the Messiah and the coming day of the Lord, what Christians believe will be the Second Coming of Jesus.

But not all prophets preached the same things. Many Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist also preached about the need for countries and individuals to repent from their sins, especially those against their neighbors.

I like how Susannah Heschel defined prophets in an introduction to her father, Abraham Heschel’s book, The Prophets. She wrote “In the common imagination, we think of prophets as people who foretell the future, who warn of divine punishment for sin, who demand social justice.” Yet she notes that while we may all critique injustice, we tolerate injustice. Prophets don’t. Think about Jeremiah, Hosea, Isaiah, and other prophets, but also John the Baptist and Jesus.

Prophets, according to Susannah Heschel’s interpretation of her father’s work, hear God’s voice and look at the world from God’s perspective. They are witnesses who reflect God’s deep concern for humanity. While we may stereotypically think of them as preaching fire and brimstone, they often alternate stories of retribution and punishment with stories of God’s love and forgiveness if we just repent.

So as we continue to make our way through Advent, notice what the prophets are saying. Pay attention to how their words apply to our world and lives. May they awaken something new in us all this season.

—Deacon Leah