I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. 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. (Habakkuk 2:1-4)
Our Wednesday Weekday School Chapel is the highlight of my week. Teachers and faithful chapel moms help me tell a Bible story. Then, with over 100 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, we pray together and sing with gusto. I try to have one take-away message from the Bible story: trust God, or give thanks always, or love one another. You know, something simple (and really, really hard at the same time). I tend to tell the same stories every year, making a quick sweep from creation through Christmas and then stories of Jesus. Sometimes, with the way current events work, I have to swap out stories at the last minute. The day after last year’s presidential election, when all the adults in the room stumbled in sleepily and cautiously, I subbed in the story of the greatest commandment, and we reminded ourselves to love God and love our neighbors. The week after the shooting in Las Vegas, we shared a Psalm and proclaimed that it is good to give thanks to the Lord. I’m thinking my story schedule should include more prophets, partly because these are anxious and confusing times, but mostly because one showed up in chapel this week.
He filed in with the rest of his class. A 4-year-old prophet. It’s rare that they show up and we recognize them in the middle of chapel. We expect runny noses and restless feet. We can spot the children who won’t sing and those who sing with extra enthusiasm. But prophets? We forget to look for them. And the quieter ones can get overlooked in the crowd. This one didn’t say a word. He just sidled in wearing a tiny sweatshirt that said in block letters that filled it up: HAPPILY EVER AFTER BEGINS TODAY. Now that’s a take-away worth sharing.
Do you remember Habakkuk? The prophet who has a tiny book, but a big bold message of faith? Scholars aren’t positive about the historical situation that prefaced his writing. Maybe it doesn’t matter because the same situations come and go. Times were tough, and people were divided and suffering and complaining. So the prophet climbed a tower to a watchpost. He was determined to rise above the chaos, in order to keep watch and listen for what God has to say. And the Lord answered: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets so that a runner may read it.” Put it on a sweatshirt in big block letters so the anxious adults around you can read it.
God has a vision for the appointed time — both in Habakkuk’s day and in ours. It’s for a happily-ever-after community where violence gives way to justice and mercy and righteousness. In God’s vision, the poor and oppressed are lifted up and those in power are held to task. In God’s future, we remember to love God and one another in brave and concrete ways. We’ve been up on the tower holding up our signs for a while now. Habakkuk reminds me that the righteous live by patient faith that God indeed has a future planned. My small chapel prophet reminds me that God’s future begins today. To help make it more than a fairy-tale-someday future, we’re called to climb down from our prophetic watchtowers and get to work. I’m talking today-was-a-good-day-at-preschool-because-I’m covered-in-mud-and paint kind of work. Let’s get messy bringing God’s vision to life together.
JULIE COFFMAN HESTER is associate pastor for children and their families at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
