December 10, 2021
Matthew 23:27-39
written by Bill Buchanan
Bill Buchanan is Executive Director of Youth Mission Co and began Memphis Youth Mission. 
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Prophets and hard truths

“We know best about these devils
Who of children prophets make”
​― Mahmoud Darwish

Ouch!  This is not exactly a “feel good, warm and cozy” text.  Yet, Advent is a time of preparation and examination, and this passage is definitely one that causes us to reflect.  Though I personally may not have driven out, flogged or killed a prophet of God, I certainly participate in a society that doesn’t like to hear the things prophets are called by God to say.  At our mission immersion program, Memphis Youth Mission, we even take our groups to visit the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated for his prophetic voice.  Even in this scolding passage, we see Jesus’ desire to hold the people of Jerusalem close, like a mother hen and her chicks.  We can take comfort in the fact that Jesus wants to hold us close, even as he wants us to hear the truth of the prophet and to change our ways.
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Questions:

In what ways do you avoid hearing truths that are difficult to accept?
Who are the prophets in our midst, and how can we learn to listen to their messages?

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