October 22, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“On that day, every [false] prophet will be ashamed of their [false] prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’  If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body [where they had been pierced]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.‘” (Zechariah 13.4-6)

“A farmer went out to sow seed.” (Luke 8.5)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

We know the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The wolf has consumed the grandmother for dinner and is waiting for the granddaughter to come along as a second helping. In order to make it happen, the wolf dresses up in the grandmother’s nightgown and nightcap, jumps into bed and pulls the covers up close. Fortunately, the ruse does not work leading to an unfortunate end for the wolf. Many are familiar with the saying “A wolf in sheep’s clothing.” It is a phrase illustrating deception. We are familiar with many faces of deception. Perhaps we have used some of those faces as well in order to gain some advantage over another person or, as in the case presented in Zechariah, to cover up the truth. What a stark contrast we see between the false prophets in Zechariah’s day and the true prophet in the days of the disciples.

One way we can see this disparity is the “cover-up” of a farmer. This choice of illustration which God uses is not random. The role of a prophet is to plant seeds of God’s word into the fields of peoples’ heart, mind and soul. Paul wrote to the Corinthian community of faith, “I planted, Apollos water but God gave the growth.” (I Corinthians 3.6) In other words, when we do what we are called to do, then what God has designed will come to pass. The seed has no mind of its own. The seed only knows to sprout roots, take root and grow. I heard a pastor say, “I stood in an orchard and listened. I heard the leaves rustle with the touch of the wind. I heard birds calling to one another with invitations not meant for me to understand. I felt the presence of God moving around me as if I was standing in ancient Eden. But I did not hear the trees discussing among themselves what their agenda was for the day.” He would go on to speak about staying connected as being the soul’s sole desire. The result of that desire would be to bear fruit. The tree did not plan how to bear fruit nor which kind of fruit. The tree only knew connection between sun, air, water and soil. Its only task was to stay connected. So, it was for the farmer. The farmer’s task is to stay connected to the earth. The farmer does so by tilling the ground, planting the seed and watering the soil around the plants. The farmer does not cause the seed to burst open, sink roots, sprout up through the soil and bear fruit. That is the business of God. We can think of that in terms of bearing the gospel to the world. We are like, as in the teaching of Jesus recorded in Luke, “A farmer went to sow seed.” We cast the seed across the face of the earth trusting in its created nature to bear fruit. It will serve God’s purpose. Of course, in Jesus’ parable of the Farmer (or is it the parable of the Seeds or is it the parable of the Soils) there are challenges which the world provides. The farmer does not concern himself with those challenges. His trust is placed in the vitality of the seed. So it would be for the evangelist who is to trust in the vitality of the Word. But, for Zechariah, the false prophet is not concerned with the word of God but in preserving himself or herself. Once discovered, the false prophet is marked and then seeks to disguise himself or herself in a different but similar attire. The false prophet hides himself so that he will not be discovered. The farmer sowing seed is out in the open and cannot be hid. That sounds like another teaching of Jesus concerning a lamp set on a table is not hidden under a bowl but rather out in the open to give light to the whole house. Or, as Jesus continued, a city set on a hill is fully visible (an obvious reference to Jerusalem which then resembles a lighthouse on the coastal prominence.) The prophet will be known by the fruit which comes from his labor. His labor is to do what God designed and to trust God with the rest.

The second aspect of visualizing this “disparity” is seen by the cover-up. The false prophet is marked by a stab wound or piercing. They attempt to cover it up by assuming a different “identity” than the one which they falsely represented. They even use the tool of blame or excuse to enhance the cover-up saying “Oh, I was just messing around at a friend’s house and these injuries were sustained. It was nothing.” It might stand to reason that a farmer preparing the field to receive the seed might be injured. Removing thickets full of briars, brambles and thorns would certainly leave marks. Having to pull stones and carry them to the side of the field being prepared could result in cuts and abrasions. At a friend’s house? What was happening there which would leave such injuries? The diversion is that the marks were made by the parents, so to say it was friends further added to the delusion. Take notice of Jesus, however. In His resurrected state, He still bore the marks of crucifixion; at least some of them- nail scars and spear puncture. We do not hear of the torn flesh which had been ripped apart by the Roman whips. We do not hear of the brow pierced by thorns. What we do hear are the evidences of the cross after the resurrection. Before then, we hear of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy, “By His stripes we are healed.” And Jesus does not seek to hide them. They are not accidentally discovered. He is willing to show them, as He did to Thomas, and invite them to touch, feel, see and know it is He who was dead and buried now raised in newness of life.

What of the Church and its witness? Jesus warned the disciples of the hardships they will have to endure because they will go out to “sow seed” in Jesus’ name. There are always risks in making authentic connections. We must remember, however, to not become disconnected from God. He is the ground of our being into which we have been planted and are rooted. He is the living water of life which is poured out on us to cleanse, refresh and nurture. He is the glorious light which warms us and creates in us the power for life to process and become. He is the hope by which we bear fruit and serve His purpose regardless of the situation in which we may find ourselves and even in those situations in which we put ourselves. Know the difference between truth and falsehood. It is by their fruit and the intention of service that they will be truly known. Know the difference because God already does and always will.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the truth set us free from the penalty of sin. AMEN.