Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 11, 2012 - Saturday in the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
[Hab 1:12-2:4 and Matt 17:14-20]Then the Lord answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.
One of the hard challenges of a prophet is that he or she will rarely see their own vision brought to reality! Jonah, who lived to see the reform he preached come to pass, is the rare exception! Jeremiah lived to see the disaster that befell the people when they refused to listen. As Isaiah says, the role of the prophet is to "prepare the way of the Lord." [40:3]. Habakkuk (ha-BAH-cook) gives us a glimpse of this poignant fate. He is told to write down his vision and to have faith that God's words will come to pass, that the vision is not in vain. Perhaps John the Baptist could be called an exception as well. He lived to see Jesus begin his own ministry.
The prophet does not control the vision and its outcome. His or her role is to proclaim the vision - the hard truth - that promises a future. Again and again, in the Old Testament, the failure of the people to heed the prophecy led to disaster. Sometimes the vision takes hold and little by little a reform takes place. In our own country, I am reminded of how long it took for basic civil rights to be enforced by law for African-Americans and others, and how far we still have to go. The vision is written on the "tablets" of our constitution! Our church is no exception, either. The vision is written in the scriptures and the words of the Second Vatican Council. We still have a long way to go! Two steps forward and one step back seems to be the rule. AMEN