Editor’s note: This is Part I of a recent sermon delivered at First United Church of Oak Park.
The Bible is a collection of different kinds of writing: poetry, lament, hero journeys, love stories, prophecy. When you think of prophecy, you may think of predicting the future with a crystal ball. Prophecy in the Bible is often less like Madame Leota and more like the prophecies parents give to their children, “If you jump from there, you will break your neck,” “If you touch the stove, you will get burned,” “If you are mean to others, they won’t want to play with you anymore.”
It’s a prediction of the future, but it’s nothing more than naming the natural consequences of our behavior. Prophets warn, “If you continue on this path, it will end in ruin.”
Isaiah 55 is different. This is a prediction of what happens when we choose well and do what is right. This is an image of what the world will be when we choose to live in the ways of God’s justice, mercy, and peace. Some prophecies show us our nightmares, but Isaiah 55 presents us with a beautiful dream.
If you’re thirsty, here’s a free drink. If you’re hungry, there’s plenty to eat. You don’t need money. God says, “I’ll do what I promised, and you will be more than OK.” You will go out in joy and be led back in peace. Things will be so good even the mountains will sing and the trees will applaud.
It would be easy to offer the first kind of prophecy right now. The “if you jump from there, you’ll break your neck” kind. For example, I could say if you worship billionaires and hand them the keys to the kingdom, they will lead the nation to ruin. If you continue down the path of fascism, look at history to see how that turns out. If you allow white Christian Nationalism to chart the course, we are headed to our end.
As much as I want to offer that kind of prophecy and spell it all out, as angry as I am about the state of things, as much as I want to shout and warn and cry, I don’t believe that is what I am called to do in this moment. It’s one thing to be able to identify evil when you see it and call it out. We need that skill. But that is elementary. There is another skill beyond that, and it’s the one that I think we need to exercise right now. It is the ability to dream another dream. It is the ability not just to name what we don’t want, but to paint a picture of what we do want. It’s one thing to spell out the nightmare ahead. It’s another thing to share a beautiful dream of what could be instead. That is a far more difficult task.
What can we imagine together? Can you imagine our neighbors who are seeking refuge and asylum being loved and protected? Can you imagine a way to celebrate diversity and inclusion? Can you imagine clean energy? Can you imagine food on every table, health and wholeness free of charge, shared blessings? Can you imagine the world as God dreams it? Can you imagine going out in joy and being led back in peace? Things so good even the mountains seem to sing and the trees seem to applaud God’s goodness? Just imagine!
Lydia Mulkey is an associate pastor at First United Church of Oak Park.