Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 30, 2012 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Num 11:25-29; Jas 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48]Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all! [Numbers]
This weekend I am beginning a "parish mission" at a parish in Mississippi. The "theme" of the mission is: "Can we all be prophets?" It is my hope to challenge the folks in the pews to take their baptismal "commission" seriously, which includes participation in the "priestly, prophetic and kingly" ministry of Jesus Christ! The "prophetic" side of this ministry means sharing the faith and speaking out about its implications for our conduct and our society.
"Prophetic" does not necessarily mean "dramatic." There are quiet forms of witness that make a deep impact. However, we know from the Old Testament and from John the Baptist that some prophets ARE called to a dramatic witness - sometimes a witness that ends in death, as we know from Jesus' own life. Prophets can make us uncomfortable because they ask us if we're actually living according to the principles that we claim to live by. In the history of our own U.S.A, the treatment of non-white minority people gave rise to prophetic individuals who challenged the dominant white majority to live by the constitutions and principles that founded the nation. Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. are just examples.
Prophets can make institutional leaders uncomfortable as well, because, as the scripture for today points out, it is a matter of the "spirit." The bishops of our church have a difficult task, and it is made more difficult by the very institutional structures that are designed to help the church carry out its mission! Prophets who point out inconsistencies in church teaching and conduct can be treated as "unwelcome" or even excommunicated! Both Jesus and Moses today warn us about stifling the prophetic spirit. St. Paul echoes this in his First Letter to the Thessalonians 5:19-21: "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good." Whether our witness is quiet or dramatic, our baptismal call is not something that "happened" years ago. It is a living and active force now. We are all called to be prophets. AMEN