Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'C'

Sunday January 28, 2007

Is there a prophet in your life?

Do you recall the first time you experienced the sense of rejection? Perhaps it was during the “terrible twos” when your parents explained that there were alternatives to your unruly behavior.

Or perhaps it was on the second day of school when the teacher introduced a behavior program not quite in keeping with your particular modus operandi. Sooner or later, some one or some thing challenges our thinking, our modus operandi—our way of doing things, or our ‘sacred cows’. The ‘will to power’ surfaces very early in life but sooner or later, we discover that ‘my way or the highway’ is a road that leads nowhere.

On the other hand, you may recall occasions when you were on the other side of the table or desk, in the role of parent, teacher or mentor who found it necessary to challenge a child, a student or a peer with information intended to effect an attitudinal adjustment or behavior modification. Unmoved by your intervention, that person, may have tuned you out and turned you off.

These kinds of experiences may occasion within us a sense of rejection but they can also lead to a change of heart and move us to explore alternatives to a particular bias or way of doing things. Life is like that. Life doesn’t always go our way — nor should it.

The tension created by contrasting ideas is the tension that can stretch the mind toward a new truth and in the words of Kahil Gibran, “expand the heart to its greatness intended by God.” Eventide of the Feast from Secrets of the Heart by Kahil Gibran]

It is the discipline of successful living to challenge and to be challenged.

Jeremiah was a reluctant prophet who was ‘challenged’ by God to ‘challenge’ his contemporaries, individually and collectively, to call them back to core values. Core values are the underpinnings of good behavior. Unfortunately, religious leaders had contaminated society with their selfish interests and in fact, used the law to excuse them from the higher law of love, justice and integrity.

His initial response, on solid ground to be sure, was to reject God’s ‘challenge.’ He feigned unworthiness, which is a thinly disguised excuse for getting out of a difficult task. “I’m not up to it; get someone else more qualified than I.” God said, “No, I want YOU, so gird up and get ready. I’ll give you the right words. You may be rejected but if you hold fast, I will hold you up and be with you through thick and thin!”

This is the perfect introduction to Luke’s description of Jesus’ call and more than hints at the rejection that Jesus would suffer even from those who knew him best! Mark tells us that some of Jesus’ own family members thought he was out of his mind! Jeremiah and Jesus became victims of the axiom that “shooting the messenger is easier than allowing the message to penetrate the soul and purify the heart.”

Both of these readings are calling us back to the core values of the Gospel. However, living these values conscientiously, that is, with a good conscience may get us into trouble with our family, our neighbors, even our church but it will never get us into trouble with the God who challenges us but never hassles us.

By the way, the core values of the Gospel are all tied to and connected with indiscriminate love without regard to territory, color of skin, political persuasion and sexual orientation. Those who attempt to ‘codify’ core values to any of the above categories falling into the trap of pharisaic hypocrisy.

We too are called to challenge one another but never hassle. We are called to live our faith ‘out loud’ but using words only when necessary!

One preacher put it this way: “Everyone knows that the world has both beautiful and ugly angles; that people are a mixture of good and bad; that the world is an imperfect habitat; that progress is measured in inches, one day at a time. The ordinary citizen expects justice to be delayed, honesty to be expensive, the rich to prosper and the poor to be always with us.” [James Smith, in Celebration: An Ecumenical Worship Resource, 2001] But in the words of the Master, “It cannot be that way with you.”

Indeed, the man and woman of conscience is called to challenge the status quo at times even when in doing so they may suffer rejection.

To cheat in business may seem like an economic misdemeanor in human terms but to the true disciple it is a breech of moral integrity.

To disparage another because of race, color, creed, sexual orientation, may be considered by many only a breech of etiquette but to the disciple of Christ, it is an offense against justice.

The pacifism of Dorothy Day and others after her may challenge our will to war but we need to listen to the ‘peace prophets’ of today.

Paul was a prophet in his own right and told the people of the Church at Corinth that all must be done with love. He infers that the folks at Corinth were not always loving, but rude, arrogant, and selfish. Love truly makes all the difference in the life of the believer. To live with genuine love for God, self and neighbor can only empower us to faithfulness and lead to right choices that work for others and ultimately for ourselves. But it is not enough to challenge others. We must do it with love.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminded his followers and us that true love is expressed not only in what we say and do but also in how we express ourselves and in the manner in which we act. We may suffer rejection but doing the right thing will ultimately bring us the inner peace that money can’t buy.

We all need to have at least one prophet in our life to keep us honest and forthright in our commitment as disciples of Christ.

Who is the prophet in your life?

To whom are you a prophet?

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