"A Vision of Light - A Vision of Justice"
Sermon Presented October 3, 2004
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
In the Darfur region of Sudan, fifty thousand people are dead, thousands more will die, and more than one million people have lost their homes. The UN says this is the worst humanitarian disaster in the world today. Testifying before Congress last month, Colin Powell declared that the horrors committed in Darfur deserve the ultimate sanction. "We concluded - I concluded - that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility, and that genocide may still be occurring." (Time, Oct. 4, 2004, p. 56)
Sudan's government is systematically expelling Darfur's non-Arab population, murdering tens of thousands and permitting widespread gang rape to make lighter-skinned babies and ensure that the non-Arab tribes will be too degraded to return to their homes. (Ibid. p. 63.) The cry of the refugees: "Where is God when God is most needed?"
In the nation of Haiti, cleanup is continuing. As a result of Hurricane Jeanne, 2000 are dead and widespread destruction of property is prevalent. Because of the need for charcoal for fires, trees were cut and now when the rains come, nothing holds the soil. Poverty is rampant and people are dying of hunger and disease. Their cry: "Where is God when God is most needed?"
Whether it was the time immediately following 9-11, a time when a loved one lay dying, or a time when the responsibilities of life seemed to overpower us, we can relate to the cries of the prophet Habakkuk. We don't need to be a citizen of Darfur or Haiti or Judah to understand a plea for God's presence.
Not much is known about Habakkuk, but from the 6th verse of the 1st chapter (not in the lectionary reading) we ascertain that he wrote about 605-604 BCE - before the Chaldeans (Babylonians) were a threat to destroy Jerusalem. A contemporary of Jeremiah, this man of faith believed God had abandoned the people. Destruction, violence, strife, slack enforcement of laws and no justice described his world. This was reality! But in the midst of that reality, he continued to cry out to God for himself and for his community, and he expected God to hear him and respond.
This book depicts a dialogue between Habakkuk and God. I'm going to read the first part of our text, which is Habakkuk's cry to God. Habakkuk 1:1-4.
Habakkuk believes in a just God and yet all he sees is injustice. In his eyes, God appears either disinterested or unable to act. He's tired of living in such a wicked world, so he takes his case to God, the ultimate judge, because he believes God will act. Then he waits for God to answer. He waits and he waits and he waits!
We understand how Habakkuk felt! We've experienced times when we looked for God and couldn't find a trace of hope or goodness. We wondered when God would act to correct the injustice. That's how I imagine the Black community in Mississippi feels right now. Last week I read Leonard Pitts' editorial in the Journal - Sentinel and thought: "God, where is justice?" Pitts wrote that the State Fair in Jackson, Mississippi will offer fairgoers the chance to shake hands with or get an autograph from the chief suspect in the Ku Klux Klan's 1964 murders of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner - men who went to Mississippi seeking to register black voters. Seventy-nine year old Edgar Killen went free after a jury deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of conviction. The juror who held out said that she couldn't bring herself to convict a preacher. Killen remains under state investigation for the 40-year-old crime and has never recanted his hateful views. In a booth at the state fair, a white supremacist leader will hand out cards with an image of the 3 murdered workers circled with a line drawn through them. Fairgoers will be encouraged to have Killen sign this card. (Journal Sentinel September 28, 2004, 15A) "God, where are you when people need you most?"
What is God's reply to Habakkuk? I'm reading verses 1-4 of the second chapter. The first words you hear are from Habakkuk and then you hear God's answer.
When God finally speaks, it isn't the quick fix Habakkuk desires. The answer includes war and captivity by a godless nation. God has a vision for the people of Judah and God tells Habakkuk to write the vision in large letters so that the people can see it and read it. With the vision before them, they will have a recognizable goal and hope for the future. When the vision becomes reality, they will know that the prophet speaks for God.
We don't like to wait for anything! If we're in a long line at the store, we are antsy! We like drive-through banking, prescription refills and fast foods so that we don't have to get out of the car. Let's get this completed yesterday! God tells Habakkuk that the vision will be fulfilled in God's time, so don't get anxious. When you find yourselves in captivity, know that God hasn't forgotten you. Wait! Be patient! God will act when the time is right. But things often get worse before they get better.
This message from God is for us individually and for our church. God is in the business of saving, we just need to be patient. God is in the business of providing vision; we just need to discover it. As with Habakkuk and the people of Judah, we will discover God's vision in the midst of the reality in which we live. Reality is that commitment to God receives a low priority. Reality is that most don't want to know God's will for their lives. Reality is that our goals are different than God's. Reality is that we are looking for a quick fix to church growth and spiritual maturity. Reality is that we sometimes doubt that God will act.
We can discover God's vision for us and for the church when we pray to God - when we confront God with reality as we see it and when we wait patiently for the revelation of the vision and its materialization. But in order to do this we must believe that God hears us and will respond to our request. As we wait, we must seek to be righteous and to live by faith in God's promises.
I want to suggest that Pam put "God's vision for Roundy" as the top item for prayer at our day of prayer on October 23rd, and I invite each of you to join in on that prayer. If we come together to seek God's vision for Roundy, I believe we will receive it - but not necessarily immediately.
When we understand the vision we need a plan for it to become reality. Sometimes we move about without direction and this is a waste of time and effort. Sometimes we don't plan well and the vision isn't realized. Sometimes people decide that the end justifies the means and use unethical means to achieve the goal. I believe that God does have a vision for Roundy and we must seek the vision and work to accomplish it.
Now comes the time factor. We're accustomed to thinking chronologically - according to calendar time and not according to God's time. But God's time has nothing to do with the calendar. We can't check our progress by the measures of time that we are familiar with. We must be faithful to do what God calls us to do each step of the way even when we see no results. We must be willing to work with God's vision always before us. We must be patient while waiting and working. We must plead with God for the right vision for us and then move forward to see that vision become reality.
But maybe something else needs to happen first. This is just a thought! For the people of Judah, the status quo was turned upside down when they went into captivity. God told Jeremiah that before the time for building and planting, there would come a time of upheaval, destruction and conquest. (Jeremiah 1:9-10.) What do you believe needs changing at Roundy before God can build and plant here? Think about it.
God says that the righteous person will live by faithfulness to God's vision. Habakkuk is to maintain a faithful commitment to God's justice and to persist in its principles, even when justice appears to be absent in the world around him.
This is true confession time. I read of so much injustice in the world that I often lose hope that things will improve. I've been here a year now and when I see no signs of numerical growth, my faith wanes. And I don't always cry out to God when needed. It may be that you and I need to be more persistent in bombarding God with our cries. It may be that we need to act as though God's vision is on the horizon. It may be that we need a new infusion of faith.
The prophet Habakkuk was faithful and continued to cry out to God, even though he didn't receive complete answers to his difficult questions about justice. And through his faithfulness, he received a word of encouragement. He confronted God with the difficult questions and he received a vision for the future. However, he didn't see the vision become reality.
There are times when we have more questions than answers. There are times when God seems slow in revealing a vision or a purpose. There are times of waiting and wondering what will happen next and when God will act for our benefit. There are times when we experience injustice, the untimely death of a loved one, a devastating circumstance or intense suffering. These are times to cry out to God and then wait for God's direction.
Biblical waiting isn't passive but active waiting. We must work toward the partial vision that we receive. As we are faithful to God, God will be faithful to us. Are we willing to seek God's vision and then act on it? Are we willing to wait for God's time for the fulfillment of that vision? These are questions we need to answer individually and as a congregation. Each of us needs to be part of the process.
Our lives are lived in dialogue with God. Like the prophet we see pain and suffering and wonder why these things are happening. May we learn from the prophet and keep the dialogue going.
Please hear the last 3 verses of the book of Habakkuk - chapter 3:17-19. This isn't part of our text, but is a beautiful statement of faith in God's promises. The prophet said: "Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights." To keep the faith is often an act of our will. May we will to hope and watch and praise God as we press toward the heights.
