The Problems of Prophets - Sermon by Rev. Roberta Howey

In The Problems of Prophets, Rev. Roberta Howey reflects on Jeremiah’s reluctant call to speak truth to power—and the heavy cost of doing so. Like a scientist in a disaster movie whose warnings go unheeded, Jeremiah faced mockery, persecution, and even violence for proclaiming that Israel had forsaken its covenant with God. Yet God promised to be with him, not to spare him from struggle, but to sustain him through it. Rev. Howey draws connections to modern prophets like Martin Luther King Jr. and Greta Thunberg, who also confront the powerful with inconvenient truths. This sermon challenges us to listen for God’s voice in those who call us to justice, and to resist the temptation to silence them when their words are hard to hear.