Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'B'

Monday July 10, 2006

Prophet or Pest?

I think it’s fair to say that we all come in contact with ‘pesty people’ now and then. They’re not bad people mind you but they are amazingly adept at disturbing the peace at the most inopportune time—when is it ever opportune? And they have an uncanny ability to “get under your skin.” It’s not that they intend to irritate or annoy but somehow they do and though our initial reaction may be to fight we usually take flight, if not physical at least mental.

I think it’s also fair to say that we come into contact with ‘prophets’ too; people who like pests may appear at the most inopportune time. However, prophets are not easily dismissed. They challenge our thinking, force us to re-examine our attitudes and they occasion changes in our modus operandi — our set way of doing things.

Unfortunately all too often prophets are not understood until long after they are dead. This is as true of contemporary prophets as it was of the ancient prophets of Israel many of whom were martyred for their acerbic and sometime sarcastic discourse.

The Scriptures this weekend are about prophets and prophecy both in our personal and in our communal lives.

Is there a prophet in your life?

It’s important to know the difference between the pest and the prophet. Not every pest is a prophet of course, but every prophet may be a little pesty at times.

The first prophet to address us this morning was Ezekiel, a rather eccentric man whom you or I would probably not befriend without insisting that he first enroll in a Dale Carnegie course.

The passage is taken from what is known as his “call narrative,” i.e., the description of his prophetic call by God. (Prophets are appointed by God to speak for God, using their own words, of course. Pests are self-appointed. They speak for themselves and for their own personal vested interests.) Unpacking this passage may help us to recognize the qualities and characteristics of a true prophet so that we may be able to distinguish the gallant voice of the prophet from the narcissistic overtures of the pest.

“The Spirit got into me,” he said, “and got me going.” In other words, Ezekiel didn’t assume the role of prophet on his own. God entered his heart, appointed and empowered him to confront the rebellious Israelites in exile.

The title given to him was “Son of Man” or “mortal one” which title reminded him and us of the distance between the greatness of God and Ezekiel’s humanity. Nevertheless, despite his human inadequacies and limitations, God called him and used him as his spokesperson.

And what did God inspire Ezekiel to say to the rebellious Israelites? “Turn or burn!” I’ll bet there were more than a few who would like to have tarred and feathered him right then and there and cast him off the side of a cliff.

However, after the return of the exiles to their homeland, Ezekiel’s words softened to “Turn and learn from your mistakes.” Get to know the mercies of the Lord who wills not the death the rebellious but that they be converted and live. In many ways he became a thorn in their side but those who took his words to heart despite his eccentricities were truly liberated in mind and heart as well as in the body. To live in the rhythm of God is to be truly free.

Like Ezekiel, Paul, apostle and ‘prophet,’ was somewhat eccentric and even to this day is not the most popular among the early evangelists and missionaries. However, Paul recognized his weakness and was the most insistent and tenacious of all the prophets. He relyied on the power of God’s grace to sustain him. He could indeed be pesty but he was not a pest. Prophets are persistent and resilient. Pests are ignored and easily dismissed.

His second letter to the Corinthians is an act of faith, hope, love and of genuine humility the latter being another distinguishing characteristic of the true prophet.

I wonder about that thorn in his side to which he referred in the first sentence. There has been a great deal of speculation ranging from a persistent temptation to arthritis, rheumatism, a nagging headache, loss of hearing or simply a sense of inadequacy in the face of rejection.

We’ll never know for sure but we do know that it didn’t hold him back or prevent him from fulfilling his call and mission. In fact, he was able to put them to advantage in preaching the word. “Therefore, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, them I am strong.”

And now we come to the ‘Prophet of prophets,’ Jesus the Christ, the one who was not only empowered by God but who we believe was God incarnate. In his humanity he was as weak as the most human of all the prophets because he willingly divested himself of everything that was divine in order to empower us to live in God. This is the great paradox for believers and a contradiction to non-believers.

However, familiarity got in the way of those who were closest to him to the extent that they could not understand or appreciate his words and deeds. We just don’t expect our children, our parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles to be prophetic. Who do they think they are anyway! In another chapter, Mark says that Jesus’ relatives thought he was out of his mind.

I’m sure there are a few pests but is there a prophet in your life?

The voices of biblical prophets are still alive in the pages of Scripture but there are other prophets also dead but whose words are still alive in their writings, e.g., Mahatma Ghandi, Thomas Merton, Oscar Romero, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, and Jean Vanier, to name only a few. But there are also voices of living prophets local and global such as Bishop Tom Gumbleton, and authors such as Chris Hedges, Jason Berry and Andrew Greeley, though some of us may think Greeley still needs to work on humility!

There may be a prophet among your neighbors and even in your family. They may not be very verbal words but their actions may speak much louder than words.

Prophets are people sent to help others to be good and to do good, not necessarily to feel good. They get us to think and to think through life’s decisions. They challenge us as individuals and as a community not just for our own best interests but also for the interests of neighbors near and far. They challenge as a nation and as a Church to think not for God but with God. They are instruments of true liberation.

Is there a prophet in your life — down the street, across the globe, or sitting right next to you?

Is it conceivable that you may be a prophet to someone or to an institution in your life — even to the Church?

I hope so!

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