The Words of the Prophets

OK, I have to admit. The first thing that comes to my mind when I say the above phrase is, “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenament halls.” That comes to mind thanks to Paul Simon and the Sound of Silence.

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls”
And whispered in the sounds of silence.

The song was written after the assasination of President Kennedy, and the message is, “Listen, people. We are busy finding fun and building bank accounts – but we are missing something.”

I’ve never found the words of prophets on subway walls myself. (be that underground or sandwich shops) But God has certainly given us warning through the words of prophets. The entire Gospel is foretold by the words of prophets. And of course that includes the birth of Christ as well as his life, death and resurrection. Remember Ben’s quote from 2 weeks ago? 32% of the New Testament is a quotation or reference to the Old. And the last of the prophets proclaiming the coming of Christ was John the Baptist. “There was a man sent from God. His name was John.”

Listen to the words of the prophets. It’s not all about looking back. Revelation is filled with the words of the Old Testament prophets. We are the priviledged people who can see so much more because we stand on their shoulders.

As we look forward to hearing about the “Words of the Prophets” on Sunday, consider this 11th Century quote from John of Salisbury.

“We are like dwarves sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours.”

That is a marvelous incentive to come hear the Word of the Lord.

See you at the city center.