December 6: Voices of the prophets

Matthew 3:1-2

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’

The voice of the prophets are always voices which call people back to focus their attention on God. No less is true for John as he announces the coming of the Messiah.  His voice comes with both judgement and hope.

In my mind when ever God’s truth about our human predicament is revealed afresh we are hearing or seeing a word of prophecy in action.  In this even voices which may seem strange might proclaim some aspect of the truth to us.

When I first heard Chris Jordan speaking about his artwork I had sense that his words contained that element of truth and so also prophecy for us in our contemporary setting.  John’s ancient words, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor.”

As we hear words of prophecy about the state of the world or see them visually presented what does it mean for us as Christians and how do we respond?

http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats.html