"Keep the Conversation Going!"
Sermon Presented October 7, 2007
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
On the last drive of the Packers-Vikings game last Sunday, quarterback Kelly Holcomb of the Vikings was intercepted when his pass to Bobby Wade was deflected off Green Bay cornerback Charles Woodson and into the hands of safety Atari Bigby. Wade thought it was interference by Woodson and complained vociferously to the back judge, who said: "I was looking the other way!" That's not what a player wants to hear from a person charged with seeing that justice occurs on the field.
But no matter what happens on the field, there is a limit to how much arguing a player or coach can do. Often players and coaches go right up to the line, hoping not to cross it because no one wants to be ejected.
Habakkuk was a Judean prophet who complained vehemently against what he saw as injustice against God's people, and he directed his complaints to God! He wasn't afraid to challenge God, and he didn't mince words in his complaints. Habakkuk, a contemporary of Jeremiah, wrote about 605-04 BCE - before the Chaldeans (or Babylonians) became a serious threat to destroy Jerusalem. Violence, strife, slack enforcement of laws and a total lack of justice describe his world. But in the midst of that reality, Habakkuk continued to cry out to God for his community, and he expected God to hear and respond!
The book of Habakkuk is a dialogue - or a debate - between Habakkuk and God. Hear part of that dialogue from Habakkuk 1:1-4 and 2:1-4.
Habakkuk has a complaint and he levels it right where he thinks it belongs - at God! He's comfortable talking to God and hearing from God, so this is the logical place to begin. He can't understand why God wants to punish God's people through the Babylonians! The Babylonians are wicked and even though the Judeans deserve punishment for their sins, it shouldn't come from the Babylonians. How can God be silent while the ruthless Babylonians prepare to swallow up God's people?
Habakkuk's feelings and arguments are not uncommon for those closest to God. In Mother Teresa's recently published journals, we see that she felt the same as Habakkuk. Some Church officials complain that she shouldn't be named a saint because her faith was so fragile while working with the poor in India, that she felt God's absence for 45 years and said so. This feeling of the absence of God was expressed by John of the Cross in Dark Night of the Soul and by the psalmist in the lament psalms. Godly people who are concerned about justice become frustrated and even angry when God doesn't intercede and correct the injustices that they see. How can a just God allow injustice?
In an editorial comment in the October 2, 2007 issue of Christian Century, the writer said that "Though Mother Teresa longed for joy in her faith, she knew that her feelings were not the point. Perhaps in an age of prosperity preaching and happy-clappy worship, in which faith is so often equated with feeling, Mother Teresa's example again brings us the word we need" (p. 5.) There are dark times when we don't sense God's presence!
Habakkuk wonders why he must witness the violence. We feel the same way! Thursday night, I went to a meeting of church and educational leaders from the Milwaukee area, and I heard stories from people who are concerned about justice and poverty issues that need to be addressed and solved in our SE Wisconsin metropolitan area. We chose the issues we are most concerned about so they can be researched to determine where to spend the energy of the group to make the greatest difference.
A woman who lives in Milwaukee and has been robbed several times, doesn't want to move from her home, she only wants to be safe in her neighborhood! A church member from Mequon and another from a Hispanic church in Milwaukee told that they can no longer hold joint services every six weeks because the Mequon police stop and either arrest or harass the Hispanics coming into Ozaukee County to worship. A driver's license is insufficient and Hispanics must produce either a birth certificate or a passport. A mother spoke of taking her children out of Milwaukee public schools because the education is sub-standard. God, where are you when injustice and violence are rampant?
The powerful 7-part PBS series on World War II ended last week. Viewers were able to look at that war through the eyes of those who lived through it. It was personal! It was real! It was a study in violence and injustice and heart and courage. As I studied this text, I could almost hear the soldiers offering this prayer of Habakkuk: "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not listen? Or cry to you 'Violence!' and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous - therefore judgment comes forth perverted."
In Myanmar and Darfur, we see that the law is slack and the rights of people are trampled. There is no justice, and the righteous are overcome - or slain - by the wicked. When will we see justice? Where are you, God?
When God finally speaks, it isn't the quick fix Habakkuk desires. The answer includes war and captivity by a godless nation. But it also carries a vision of hope for a future time when the righteous will prevail. God tells Habakkuk to write the vision in large letters so everyone can read it. With the vision before them, they will have hope for the future. When the vision becomes reality, they will know that the prophet spoke for God.
Those who witness injustice and violence are those who care the most. Members of Underwood have gone on mission trips to Haiti and El Salvador and because they were there and saw the needs first hand, their world expanded. Now they raise money for schools in Haiti and for playground equipment for the Peace Park in El Salvador. When we move into the trenches and see poverty, violence and injustice first hand, we will cry out to God for the people AND become part of the solution to the problem.
Roy helps build Habitat houses through the efforts of his other church. Chris serves on the Milwaukee Christian Center Board and helps meet the needs there. Beulah prepares food for University Christian Ministries and several of you prepare food for the St. Ben's meal program. When we get in the trenches and see the needs, our hearts wrap around these needs and we act.
At the Peace Breakfast at the Wisconsin Annual Meeting this weekend, I will speak for five minutes about how to support efforts for peace. At first I declined because Jamie Washam, Grace Morgan and Sandy Lamar were also speaking and I knew I had nothing to say in comparison to their efforts. However, I called Sandy back and told her I would try because those in attendance needed to hear from someone who is concerned, but lacks heavy duty work in the trenches. People need to see that even small efforts can make a difference. We need to take a stand with the victims of injustice because you can't have peace without justice.
Since coming to Milwaukee, Grace Morgan has been a tower of strength for me on how to age with purpose and righteousness in retirement. Grace, who celebrated her 89th birthday last month, serves on many Milwaukee boards and works to meet social needs. She was seriously injured in an automobile accident in August, but I believe she will once again be a force for peace and justice in the Milwaukee community because she cares! She has a huge vision for the way things should be and she moves within that vision.
Habakkuk takes his stand with the victims of injustice and questions God's handling of their case. By debating with God, he deals openly and honestly with the gaps between human experience and the ideals of our religious faith. Christians must grasp a vision of God's reign and then live faithfully into it. There will always be a discrepancy between God's vision and the real world, but we need to keep God's vision before us.
Do we expect God to answer our complaints? Do we continue to badger God? Do we continue to listen? Do we look - not only for God's vision but also for movement toward fulfillment of God's vision? There is no room here for spiritual pride, because all of us fall short of the ideal! There is room for faith in God's promises!
Habakkuk closes his writing with these words from chapter 3. "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." May we keep God's vision before us and press on toward the heights of God's reign on earth! Amen!
