The reading
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:2-4; 3:[3b-6] 17-19
1:1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 2 O Lord, how
long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you
"Violence!" and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see
wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife
and contention arise. 4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The
wicked surround the righteous -- therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
2:2 Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. 3 For there is still a
vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it
seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. 4 Look at
the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their
faith.
[3:3b His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full
of his praise. 4 The brightness was like the sun; rays came forth from his
hand, where his power lay hidden. 5 Before him went pestilence, and plague
followed close behind. 6 He stopped and shook the earth; he looked and made the
nations tremble. The eternal mountains were shattered; along his ancient
pathways the everlasting hills sank low.]
3:17 Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is
on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no
food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the
stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my
salvation. 19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of
a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights.
The message
We are coming to the end of our long Advent season, Since
September, we have gone through the Old Testament, hearing the stories of
creation and flood, God’s call of people like Moses, Abraham and Joshua, the
covenants or agreements between God and the people, God’s powerful interference
with world on behalf of the people of Israel and others. We are now in the time
of the prophets, who were set apart and entrusted with sharing God’s messages
of judgment and hope. So far, we have
heard from the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Micah, who all call the people to
repent, to live justice and faith, warn of coming destruction and share
promises of hope.
Today, we hear from Habbakuk. Much like how to say his name, no one is
really sure who he was. In terms of his background and family history, there is
almost nothing known. He was a
contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, sharing prophesy around the same,
terrible time. Like many of the other prophets, Habbakuk spoke hard, unwelcomed
news, the people of Israel have been unfaithful too long (a charge that was
hard to deny). Because of this God would withdraw protection, allow Israel’s
enemies to conquer them, invading foreign powers would serve as God’s
instrument of judgment on Israel. Because of one too many acts of disobedience,
too much sin, society wide forgetting of what the Lord has done, attempts to
build a godless world and abuse of others, destruction would come.
Habbakuk speaks the same message as many of the other
prophets but he is very different from them, Habbakuk questions the Lord. Hearing the message to share, he asks
“really”, “is that fair or just”, “is this the right or godly response to the
situation”. “why not just intervene to make things better, to replace bad
leaders”. Habbakuk asks God a lot of
very direct, pointed questions, Should
the people be held accountable for bad leaders they prayed to get rid of, for
the actions of neighbors they constantly tried to change. Habbakuk tells the
people the word of the Lord and, at the same time, asks the Lord, is that
really your word, Is this fair, is this right or just, is whatever punishment
to come the measured and proper response to the actions of the people. Why does
God allow evil people to control things? Why does God allow the greedy and abusive to
prosper through their actions and then let those actions doom everyone.
Today’s reading gives us Habbakuk’s questions, the Lord’s
response and then Habbakuk’s reaction to that response. Habbakuk asks O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, yell
out the abuse of the powerful here on earth, highlight their faithlessness and
you will not listen? We cannot stop bad
authorities without you. I cry out
"Violence!, calling your attention to what is happening, pointing out look
over there, asking Lord stop the violence" and nothing changes, you will not save? You, O Lord control things,
How can the people be punished for things they cannot control. Habbakuk does
not want to say “yeah, I told you so” when the bad things come (reading some of
the other prophets, you get a sense they sort of do). As Habbakuk shares the word of the Lord, he
asks what his audience will be thinking, “is this right or fair”?
God answers these questions, urging patience and trust in
God’s power and providence, in finding comfort in what we can understand and
accepting what we cannot understand or see fully. God says For there is still a vision for the
appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry,
wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right
in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
The righteous live by their faith should sound familiar, it
is in Paul’s letter to the Romans 1:17 For
in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,[a] as it is
written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Its in Paul’s letter to Galatians 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified
before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” Its in
Pauls letter to the Hebrews 10:38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. This verse is at the heart of our faith
tradition. Luther’s prayer time and biblical
study that leads to the Reformation starts with the righteous shall live by
faith. It is where Luther first sees the comfort of the Gospel, the assurance
of salvation, the good news meant for us.
God’s plan for us is bigger than winning a war, having a neat and
well-kept temple, successful business or healing from a disease, it is about
forever things for everyone.
Habbakuk gets that and responds with acceptance and even
praise, even if things are bad, if things are not right, if suffering comes to
the undeserving (which it did), I will
still trust the Lord. Habbakuk shares
dire possibilities, Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on
the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls.
To people who lived off the land and their crops, this was the end of the
world. To all this Habbakuk promises he
will live by faith, yet I will rejoice in
the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my
feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights.
This movement from confronting the Lord with aggressive
questions, thinking “oh I caught you” to words of praise and acceptance, is not
new. Psalm 22, starts with my God, my
God why have you forsaken me, and ends with words of praise, thanksgiving and
celebration, God is in charge. We know
Psalm 22 best from Good Friday, Jesus last words from the cross, history’s most
significant example of God’s plans not being our plans. In this case, even the end, death, does not
stop God’s promise from being kept.
Many other psalms express the same anger, the same struggle
with how can a caring, all powerful God, allow, let, encourage or overlook such
terrible things. Habbakuk’s asks those questions, hears them answered
about 2600 years ago and accepts the Lord’s word. We still ask those questions.
When we do not like an answer, when it does not speak to our minds, we ask the
question again and again,
The righteous live by faith, the righteous ask these
questions by faith, the righteous listen for the answers by faith. The righteous
sort what matters by faith, Habbakuk,
his questions asked and answered, I will trust in the Lord.
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