1. Hosea
While only the first three chapters of the Book of Hosea are clearly autobiographical, his prophecies furnish a great deal of additional information about him. The story of Hosea and Gomer, of course, presents a tantalizing and ultimately insoluble puzzle. Did Hosea seek out a prostitute in order to dramatize his message? Did he marry a "good girl" who deceived him and eventually became a prostitute? Did he ... and so on?
The Four R's. Hosea, a man of God, acts very much like God toward the straying Gomer. He agonizes over her rebellion, is broken-hearted over her ruin, seeks and gladly accepts her repentance and grants her full restoration. The story parallels the Father's way with the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). Hosea's name comes from the same root as Joshua and Jeshua/Jesus, meaning "Savior." The parallel is fitting.
Broken Promises. Gomer promised to marry Hosea "for better, for worse," and so on. She broke her promise, just as Israel was breaking her covenant with God. The more solemn the promise, the greater the misery or sadness that attends its betrayal. Are we, the Church, exacting too many promises (baptismal, marriage, membership, ordination) that people either cannot or do not even intend to keep? Could such promises be changed to annually renewable? Should they be?
Is Goodness Boring? Hosea was a good and righteous man but Gomer got so bored with him that she deceived him. The people of Israel often found the religion of the Baalim "more fun" than the religion of Yahweh. Is virtue, goodness, righteousness inevitably boring? Is it inevitable, in life as well as in the media, that "good news is no news"? Can goodness be exciting -- and be kept that way?
Those Poor PK's! Hosea gave his children symbolically-charged names for the noblest prophetic reasons, but they would have to live with them for the rest of their lives! PK's (preacher's kids) used to have a tough row to hoe. Too many of them would grow up to become either pagans or preachers. Few were able to become their own, unique selves. Today we have begun to realize that, when God calls a man or woman to the ministry, no call is necessarily included for the children. Or even for the spouse!
Great Harlots Of The Bible. There is a sermon in Rahab, Gomer, and Mary Magdalene. Attitudes toward prostitution also changed a great deal from earlier permissiveness to later ostracism and, at least on paper, capital punishment. But these three women played, each in her own way, a significant part in God's action with his people. The point may be that, with God, no human being, no matter how marginal, is necessarily or finally excluded.
Who, Really, Is Our God? Hosea called his nation, Israel, a whore. What would happen to you if you, from the pulpit, called the United States a whore? Every church in our country has, and is expected to display, two flags. If you removed the Christian flag, no one might miss it. If you removed the national flag, even on the best-argued theological grounds, you would be unemployed on very short notice. Who, really, is our God?
Can Love Go Too Far? Hosea loved Gomer. Whatever she had been and however she treated him, he loved her, longed to have her back, searched for her everywhere, finally found her in a brothel and took her home as his loved and forgiven wife. He was the laughing-stoc_esermonsk of the town. But it occurred to him that this was how God was dealing with Israel. That comforted him, because he was sure that the love of God could not go too far. "Master, how many times shall a man forgive...?"
The Good Old Days. Hosea's prophecies reveal a deep bias against cities. He longs for the wilderness -- for the days of innocence, simplicity, faithfulness to God, communal solidarity which marked the people during their wanderings. Do we share his nostalgia sometimes? If so, do we have the option? Is there a way back to "Our Town"? Or, if there is not, what can we do to recover some of that lost quality of life?
2. Apollos
We know tantalizingly little about the ministry of Apollos, except that he probably played a far more important part in the Apostolic Church than is told in the references which mention him by name (Acts 18:24, 19:1; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 3:1-6, 16:12). According to Luther, he may be the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. His Alexandrian Jewish background and his first class training in classical rhetoric give a good deal of plausibility to the Reformer's suggestion.
A Great Catch. On hearing Apollos hold forth in Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla might just as well have sounded the alarm. Here was a dynamic speaker from the rival sect of John the Baptist beginning to undercut Paul's ministry. Aquila and Priscilla could have challenged him publicly. He would no doubt have defeated them in debate while being confirmed in his commitment to John. But Aquila and Priscilla took him aside, discreetly, without putting him on the spot -- and he became an apostle of Jesus Christ. A great catch -- and a lesson in method for all who wish to be evangelists.
Half A Truth May Be Worse Than None. Apollos "knew only the baptism of John" (the Baptist). His experience and training prepared him for the gospel. It also made it more likely for him to resist the gospel. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." That is why the mainline Protestant churches continue to insist on a fully-educated clergy. It is also why we offer as much adult education to laypersons as we can. Even a blank mind holds out more promise than a mind confused with half-truths.
A Clash of Wills. 1 Corinthians 16:12 can be read two ways. Apollos is in Ephesus with Paul, and Paul is telling the Christians in Corinth either that it is not Apollos' will to visit them now or that it is not God's will for Apollos to do so. A clash of wills between two persons is one thing. To decide what is God's will, for me or under any circumstances, is another. The motto of the Crusades was Deus vult! "God wills it!" Inquisitions, pogroms, conversions at sword's point have all been blessed by churches as the will of God. How can we tell what the will of God is? Or can we?
Teachable Teacher. Apollos was a highly-educated, brilliant preacher and teacher. He drew crowds and won converts for John the Baptist's sect. He was surely tempted to believe that he knew it all. But he managed to keep his eyes, his ears, and his mind open. He remained teachable, capable of further growth: the most needed qualification for teachers!
What Is The Question? Writer Gertrude Stein lay dying. Her companion, Alice Toklas, asked her, "Gertrude, what is the answer?" Feebly, Gertrude whispered, "What is the question?" We often give answers without knowing what the question is. Apollos did not make that mistake. He showed to the Jews at Ephesus "that the Christ was Jesus" (Acts 18:28). They had no problem believing in the Christ/Messiah. They just could not believe that Jesus of Nazareth, an obscure rabbi crucified as a rebel, could be he. Our problem is likely to be the opposite. We admire Jesus but are not sure that we need, or want, a Savior. The late Karl Menninger's book homes in on our problem with a question: What Has Happened To Sin?
Whose Church? As Christians, we are supposed to be transparent so that people looking at us should see through us and see only Christ. This does not come naturally. Paul had to deal with the problem in Corinth where factions had formed around favorite preachers like Apollos or Cephas/Peter or Paul himself. Next time you catch a pastor referring to the church he/she serves as "my church," say "Whoa! we are not yours. We are Christ's -- and so are you!" Apollos had an extra hard time learning Christian transparency because he was a brilliant, magnetic speaker. But all of us must learn to keep in mind at all times whose Church the Church is.
3. Micah And The Levite
The story of Micah and the Levite and of the migration north of the tribe of Dan illustrates the wryly humorous comment with which the author or editor concludes the Book of Judges: "In those days there was no king in Israel: all the people did what was right in their own eyes." None of the characters in Judges 17 and 18 is admirable or even honorable. Deservedly or undeservedly, the whole tribe of Dan is depicted as treacherous. And, of course, just as the conquest of the Land of Promise is far from finished, monotheism is far from established: the worship of Yahweh is crudely mixed with the cult of other deities. Still, there are sermon nuggets buried in this rather unpromising material.
Credentials. After hiring the young Levite from Bethlehem, Micah, the rich farmer in the hill country of Ephraism, congratulated himself: "Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite for a priest" (Judges 17:13). Micah had actually ordained one of his sons as priest of his private chapel, but now he had landed a real priest with the highest credentials: a Levite, a member of Israel's priestly tribe! Credentials are important. You would not want to entrust yourself to an un-credentialed surgeon, or architect, or watch repairman. But God often makes spectacular use of uncredentialed people, much to their own surprise and bewilderment. God called Moses who stuttered; Amos who was surely illiterate; Saul of Tarsus, who qualified impressively as persecutor of the "Jesus sect" but hardly as their advocate and leader. And what credentials, beyond his alleged Davidic lineage, did Jesus have for the office of universal Messiah?
Promises. Micah's mother had been saving 1,100 pieces of silver for a religious offering. Micah stole the money but, fearing her curse, returned it to her. Relieved, Micah's mother ordered a statue of a household god from a silversmith for 200 pieces of silver, keeping 900 pieces for herself and thus cheating on her pledge. The story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) involves the same duplicity. Ananias and Sapphira had pledged their all, but then they welshed on their pledge, with fateful results. Integrity as well as common sense demands that we do not promise more than we truly intend to keep and are likely to be able to keep. What about all those marriage vows, when every other marriage ends in divorce? What about all those church pledges that fall short?
Mother's Spoiled Baby. The rich farmer Micah (Judges 17 and 18) is an unattractive character. There is irony in his very name: Micah, short for Micaiah, "who is like the Lord!" He steals from his mother. He is superstitious. He is self-satisfied, especially for landing a Levite to serve as his private priest. But how did Micah get that way? He lived in lawless times, yes. He probably lost his father early. But his mother spoiled him rotten! When he confesses to her that it was he who stole her money, she exclaims: "Blessed be my son to the Lord!" Now this might sound noble and forgiving, but next thing Micah's mother makes an offering of just 200 pieces of silver, instead of the 1,100 she had originally pledged. Thus between spoiling her boy and offering a shoddy role model, it is no wonder that she produces an unattractive son! Our parents powerfully influence our formation as persons. But does that entitle us to use them as alibis the rest of our adult life?
Safely On The Payroll. The young Levite was born to the priesthood but, as a man, he was interested only in his own well-being and career. When Micah invited him to become his private chaplain, he knew that he was getting a good deal. But when the Danites come, abusing Micah's hospitality and robbing him, the Levite barely protests. Rather he gladly accepts the "promotion" they offer him: to become chaplain of a whole tribe rather than of just one man. Whatever the Levite's shortcomings, both Micah and the Danites could count on him to stick to his religious duties and never, never challenge, let along criticize, his employer. Micah could do what he wanted. So could the Danites. The Levite would never take a stand against anything they might be doing. Are not too many congregations deprived of any moral guidance on significant public issues, because they do not want their pastor to "mix religion and politics," and because the pastor himself prefers to remain "safely on the payroll"?
4. Andrew
Being the brother of Simon Peter, the natural leader of the Twelve, could not have been easy for Andrew. Nor are his deeds half as well documented as those of his volcanic, mercurial brother. But this very neglect of Andrew by the Evangelists may heighten the challenge of his personality for preachers.
Sibling Rivalry, Sibling Love. After recalling and illustrating how Andrew was overshadowed by Peter, you might pass in review other biblical siblings: Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, Leah and Rachel, Joseph and his brothers, Martha and Mary, and by all means, James and John, the "Sons of Thunder." The accent should be on the ambivalence which marks and mars the relationship. You might conclude with a special intercession for brothers and sisters with whom we are at war -- or just out of touch.
Evangelist Par Excellence. In John's Gospel there are three scenes in which Andrew plays a major part. In each of them he is bringing someone to Jesus. In John 1:35-42 it is his big brother, Simon, whom Jesus will rename Cephas or Peter, "Rock." In John 6:5-9, it is the little boy who is willing to share his lunch with 5,000 people, shaming the crowd into a feast of sharing. In John 12:20-23, it is the small group of Greeks, i.e., Gentiles studying Judaism with a view to conversion, who will find in Jesus the universal Messiah. Andrew's evangelistic method is simply exposing people to Jesus. Is there a better one?
One Of The Twelve. The disciples/apostles are often identified, individually, as "one of the Twelve." We know little about most of them except for their belonging to Jesus' inner circle. But you can tell a great deal about a man by the company he keeps, the organizations to which he belongs, the causes he supports. Much of who we are can be deduced from the cards we carry in our wallets. Andrew seemed content to be just "one of the Twelve." He did not join James and John when they asked the Master, foolishly, whether they might sit one at his right hand the other at his left, in the kingdom (Matthew 10:35-45). He did not register any jealousy when he was not permitted to witness Jesus' transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). He was satisfied to be a non-com in Jesus' army, in the shadow of General Peter. Has humility gone out of style?
Called To Follow. According to Matthew's account (4:18-19), Jesus called Andrew and Simon, fishermen by trade, while they were "casting a net into the sea." "Follow me," he said to them, "and I will make you fishers of men." At other times, he was calling men to become workers in his harvest, e.g., Matthew 9:37, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few...." What would happen if we started challenging people to join in order to work with us for the Master instead of offering to "service" them? Might that not be a first step toward the renewal of our churches?
The Cost of Conversion. According to John 1:35-42, Peter and Andrew were both disciples of John the Baptist. When John met Jesus, he recognized him as the Messiah. "Behold the Lamb of God!" he exclaimed. In so doing, he virtually turned the brothers over to Jesus. But this is not how it usually goes. Becoming a Christian by leaving another religious community is likely to exact a price: from family conflict to ostracism and even martyrdom. Are we showing appropriate understanding and patience with non-Christians -- whether in Asia, Africa or on the fringes of our own congregation -- when they are hesistant to take the plunge into the waters of baptism?