Coincidence?

Sunday February 1st, Deuteronomy 18: 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. The prophet comes from the people. The special character of a prophet is that he or she is chosen by God and the words they speak also come from God. There have been many throughout history that claim to do just that. There are many today who in one way or another also lay claim to speak the word of God. Do they speak a word of love and grace? Do they speak a word of forgiveness? Do they speak for the needs of the least, lost or lonely? Or do they speak of power and maintaining the political status quo? If it is status quo they are after, they don’t speak for God. In the Gospel for today, God’s word brought healing, most often that healing had social and economic manifestations. If it was only the body that Jesus healed, he would have lived to a ripe old age. Already the powers that be are massing against new agenda that may help those on the bottom of the economic ladder. Preachers who truly preach the gospel usually end up looking for other congregations. Coincidence? I think not.