Many would claim the profit motive to be one of the stronger motives of our humanity. Though purists may snub their noses at it, and socialists may sneer at it, capitalists say profit and the profit motive are the driving force of any successful economy.

Welfare recipients might criticize the high profits of some persons and businesses. But those same persons and businesses would gladly quote former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that any welfare system presupposes that someone, somewhere, is producing wealth to make the welfare payments. And you cannot produce wealth without making a profit. The great labor leader Samuel Gompers said, "The worst crime against working people is a company which fails to operate at a profit."

Most all of us hope to profit from business or profession or investments, but in the Advent Season we are asked to consider how we might profit from the prophets of God. If, in the financial world, profit means gain against costs, success against failure, and advancement against retreat, in the biblical domain the profit we might seek and expect from the prophets may well be of a different kind.

It is true, of course, that a number of popular religious leaders of today promise wealth and success as a by-product of religion. It is true, of course, that even in some of the biblical writings themselves, it is thought that if one is righteous one will be wealthy, and that, therefore, poverty must be a sign of the disfavor of God. But the great biblical prophets move beyond those enticing and troubling words of false prophecy to give us a profit more enduring, more important, more successful in the long sweep of history. Both the ancient world and the modern cherish wisdom, wealth, offspring, and power, says Abraham Heschel in his excellent book, The Prophets. There is deep in our hearts, says Heschel, "the temptation to worship the imposing, the illustrious and the ostentatious" (p. 8).

However, the luminous and explosive words of the prophet rivet our attention on the deeper dimensions of faith and the higher issues of morality and human destiny. Profits on Wall Street are admirable, but the stock market will, as J. P. Morgan put it, fluctuate. Not so the steadfast will of God. And he who would profit most will heed the words of the prophets.

I

How can we profit from the prophets? John the Baptist was one of the greatest of the prophets. He was the new Elijah, said Mary. This new Elijah has come, says Zechariah, his father, to give knowledge of salvation. The word salvation means wholeness or completeness of life, a life that encompasses the wide range of health and longevity, a life that is devoid of spiritual tumors and psychological fractures. It is a life of balanced tensions and wholesome outlook. Just where does one get a knowledge of salvation like that? The customary places we look are in fame and power, position and wealth, recognition and success. Yet, the whole world knows wealthy people who are miserable, famous people who are hopeless drug addicts, and powerful people, like a Saddam Hussein, who are sadistic and brutal beyond belief.

Where might we look for salvation? To the medical and psychological worlds, of course. Without question we have been healed with surgery and drugs and medical technology and psychological insights and counseling. Who can deny the helpfulness of therapy and surgery? Many of us have profited enormously from them.

Yet the prophets call us to a greater knowledge of a salvation that comes by way of forgiveness of sins. Prophets do have a way of pointing out our sins, of excoriating our pride and immorality, of flushing out the deceitful and hypocritical elements of our soul. Like Nathan of old, pointing his trembling finger at King David, so they, in fearless voice and fierce demeanor point the finger at us and say, "Thou art the man. Thou art the woman." But once the judgment is made and our contrition is noted, the prophets point to the tender mercies of God, and affirm that his kindness is greater than his wrath, that his love prevails over his judgment. It is this message of acceptance and forgiveness we can receive from God alone which gives us such profit.

II

Another way the prophets give us profit is to give light to those who sit in darkness. There are at least two kinds of darkness. One is the darkness of ignorance and the other is the darkness of despair. And the prophets can and do give light for both. Consider the matter of ignorance. Read the magnificent poetry and powerful prose sermons of the great prophets. Unlike some who equate religion with ignorance, and religious leaders with dogmatic rigidity, the prophets' words tingle with insight and vibrate with shimmering revelations. Scorning provincial mind-sets and bursting the bonds of smugness, the prophets always push us out of our stuffy conceits into new realities.

We profit from prophets because they urge us to push beyond the boundaries of what is comfortably known to the challenging unknown. If we are engrossed with narrow nationalism, they call us to an enlightened universalism. If we are self-centered, myopic, and defensive, they urge us to be considerate of others, to be farsighted and to take the offensive in actualizing the new realities. Instead of regressive, they are progressive.

However, the prophets know that darkness is more than ignorance and narrowness of mind. Darkness also can be a state of the soul, a malady of the heart. And if most of us struggle from time to time with ignorance, perhaps even more of us struggle with discouragement, despair, and depression.

But the prophets help us here, says Zechariah, because they give light to those who sit in the shadow of death. And what else are discouragement, despair, and depression but shadows of death? Add to that disease and the threat of physical death itself and we have plenty to worry about. And yet, it is the prophets who remind us again that the light of God is brighter than all our darkness and that the power of God is greater than all our weakness. If the Psalmist says, "The Lord is my light and salvation," the great prophet Isaiah affirms, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." Therefore, says Isaiah, "Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy" (9:2-3). Indeed God has. Through his prophets we are encouraged to have hope beyond all our despair and discouragement and death. God lightens even the darkness of death with the hope of life and light eternal.

III

But there is even more profit from the prophets. They guide our feet in the way of peace. It is well-known we men hate to ask for directions. A secretary brought in a cartoon the other day which said Moses and the Israelites wouldn't have wandered around in the wilderness for forty years if Moses had been willing to ask for directions! And the prophets would remind us that humanity wouldn't be wandering around in the wilderness of violence and warmongering for so long if we would be more willing to ask for directions. Of course we want the right directions, or do we? Amos and Isaiah and Jeremiah gave the right directions but they were ignored, to the great peril of national leaders. Jesus lamented that some prophets came fasting and no one would fast, others came eating and dancing and no one would eat and dance. When the prophets came with the way of God to guide us, we often persecuted them, ridiculed them, or even killed them. We'll do it our way, thank you.

And yet prophets like John the Baptist come out of their wilderness solitude with a message that rings true above the cacophony of the madding crowd and penetrates to a reality deeper than the frothy clamor of public opinion polls. It is the voice of the Eternal that becomes audible through their voice, the invisible One made visible through their moral transparency. Isn't it comforting to know that God has not left himself without witness? If we are willing to ask for directions, he does guide us in the way of peace. The dividends from stocks and bonds are good. Increased business here and around the world can mean a better life for all. Real estate once again may appreciate to yield a good profit. But the profits from the prophets are even better, giving success to the soul, enlightenment to the mind, and hope for our troubled spirits. After all, what does it profit us if we gain the world and lose our souls? Always and forever the prophets bring salvation to the soul. And there is no greater profit than that!

Prayer

Almighty God, Spirit of the universe, in whose life all living things receive their heartbeat and in whose mind all thoughtful beings find their true home, we worship and adore you. You have given us voices to speak of your glory, souls to feel your love, and ears to hear of wonders too grand and mighty to comprehend. We thank you for your panoply of splendor.

Look kindly upon us as we bow in your presence, and receive us not so much as the people we are, but as the people we want to be. The visions we have, the ideals we embrace, and the goals for which we strive seem often to recede as we approach them, and the things we know we should have done seem never quite to be accomplished. Forgive us when we fall short, especially of the moral demands you place in our consciences.

The world is very much with us in buying and selling, working hard to get ahead and even winning at the money game. Grant that the things we see and possess may never capture our souls. Save us from the compulsions of greed and the anxieties of fear. Help us to relax into your grace and to focus on your eternal truth. For you are the sun and we the satellites, and in you we have our light and life. Renew us and refresh us we pray, that we might gladly do your will in all our living. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.