Thousands of tons of gunpowder turned New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, Boston, and most major U.S. cities into pyrotechnic extravaganzas. More firepower was expended, I suspect, then was utilized in the entire War of Independence.

Yet, as I watched these extravagant shows, I wondered if they are gigantic because we recognize, honor, and still act upon the founding principles of this nation, or are they gigantic in part, perhaps, because we are rich, and because we have become numb to the concepts themselves and are in need of giant explosions to attract our interest, perhaps to entertain.

Our nation's initiators recognized and were excited about founding a nation on a set of God-given ideals, available for the entire community, rather than upon the divine right of kings.

They believed that God stood at the center of civilization and all life and that liberty and happiness flowed forth from God's heart like a bubbling brook.

And for this ideal, they pledged their life, fortunes, and sacred honor. Note that they did not indicate that they wished to acquire life, fortunes, and sacred honor; but rather that they pledged to give such in Godly cause; and give they did.

Very quickly thereafter, such a nation, though flawed, became the focus of much of the world. Immigrants, such as my granddad and my grandmom flooded to her ideals more then to these shores.

One has to ask, then, how are we doing? Are we a people capable, or, more importantly, willing to be hosts of God's ideals; witnesses to God's power for life?

In each Bible reading today we have that question raised. God calls to Ezekiel, my favorite Old Testament prophet, and says, "My people have lost their center in me and have sold out to the sirens of power, wealth, and world politics. They have struck out on their own without me, and they will fail. Go, prophesy to my people, Ezekiel; tell them the truth. For they are about to be carried off to slavery in Babylon. They might not listen just now, but go, proclaim my word, and they will at least know and remember that a prophet of God has passed among them, and that will make all the difference, someday."

Paul in the second reading is under attack by false apostles who, in order to impress the people and to gain their following, claim to have achieved some kind of mysterious translation to heaven and back; and then they denigrate Paulšs simple hard work for the Gospel. Paul answers in parody, and claims to boast only in the power of God. It is in vulnerability to the transforming power of God and not in the exultation of our own merit and ability that we have power and hope, he says.

The danger for us, of course, is that we have achieved so much prosperity that we have lost our sense of centered-ness on God. We have become centered on what the world can do for us, for me, and not how we can reflect the holiness of God to others.

There is a motion picture soon-to-be released titled, "The Hollow Man." In this film, a man has achieved the scientific breakthrough of becoming invisible. One slight problem remains, however. The transformation can not be reversed. So this character finds that he can walk around and no one can see him, and furthermore, no one will be able to see him for the rest of his life.

I remember from my youth, my mom had spies everywhere. I was visible and recognizable throughout the community, and before I got home on any given day, word of what I have done or failed to do, good or bad, or word of where I had been or failed to go would usually have preceded me.

Even today, as I travel near and far, sometimes to the Safeway and sometimes out of this country, I am recognizable. I, and others, have expectations of me as a Christian. I am accountable. In the movie, the invisible man quickly becomes warped, his humanity is lost due to a lack of such a center - a lack of accountability; until he in one scene croons to himself, "One can do anything one wants if one cannot see oneself in the mirror."

Go, says God to Ezekiel, for they, although a rebellious people, will know that prophet has come among them.

• the truth
• the center
• accountability

A major learning, I think, of the 20th century, for religious people, was that religion does not exist to support the state, or the culture, or the status quo.

Religion exists to call us, and through us to call the state and the structures and expectations of society to a higher level of accountability to God and holiness of living.

Christianity in an imperfect world will always have a counter-cultural message, for the culture always falls short, and will always fall short, of God's dream.

Jesus is a case in point in today's Gospel. We find him back home in Nazareth, having caused quite a stir down in Capernaum. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the town synagogue.

What is this? they cried. How dare he presume to tell us anything! Is this not the Carpenter? The son of Mary? Both of these are pejorative statements about Jesus. The word carpenter used in the Greek is, "tekton", which means less a builder of ox yolks, although that is a possibility for Jesus, then it is a euphemism for a dispossessed peasant, a landless laborer -perhaps an itinerant builder in stone. Such itinerants in Jesus' time and town where breakers of the community code - the status quo. Such code required men to stay home, attend a flock, and protect the village. Not to do so was considered shameful. How dare you preach then to us, you, you itinerant laborer, you? And, of course, the reference to being Mary's son with no reference as son of Joseph is likely pejorative as well. But, Jesus came home not as Mary's son or Joseph's son but as Son of God; and the intransigent culture wrote him off and rendered thereby God's power in him null and void. He could work no miracle there, the Gospel reads. They were hollow men -those men of Nazareth.

The good news of these readings lies in the demonstration of truth and in the proclamation that a prophet - that the Son of God - has passed among us.

We know the story. We know that threatened men conspired to kill Jesus, and that God proved his truth in resurrection. And we know that God's truth, God's Spirit, God's life-giving breath abides among us still, so that we might not be hollow men and women, but that we might grasp the truth, the centeredness, the life of God for all to see

They will wonder at us, will they not, if we live to reflect God's holiness? But, they will know,
they will know
that a prophet of God has passed by.