Signposts On The Way

The prophet and his/her rejection

Between last Sunday and the next, the Word of God invites us to reflect on prophecy, specifically the rejection that the fulfillment of the prophetic mission causes. In fact, yesterday we heard that Jesus himself suffered rejection in his own land. Next Sunday we will see how Amos was thrown out of the sanctuary of Bethel by the priest Amaziah. 

But what is a prophet? This question is found in the Bible since false prophets are mentioned there (Jer 23: 16; Deut 13:2-6). The true prophet is called by God and speaks in his name, not in the name of other gods (Deut 18: 15-20). Thus, the vocation of the prophet is as mysterious as it is personal. God chooses who He wants and that choice is manifested in a particular way in each person's life. Isaiah was made aware of his calling through a vision (Is 6:1-13); Amos was simply removed from his usual activity of being a shepherd and farmer (Am 7:14-15); The Gospel of Mark itself suggests that Jesus became aware of his vocation when John the Baptist disappeared from public life (Mk 1:14). 

If the prophetic vocation is mysterious and personal, his mission is more complicated. The thing is that the prophet is always against the grain of history. When the people are downcast and desolate, the prophet calls for hope, to lift their spirits, to trust in God. When people are happy the prophet must warn that they are moving away from the Lord. The Word of the Lord and the situation of the people is what marks the ministry of the prophet. And we see this even today. As an example, the episcopal motto of the Argentine bishop Enrique Angelelli (1923-1976) was: “With one ear on the Gospel and the other on the people.” Motto that he lived until his martyrdom. The prophet cannot silence injustice, he cannot look the other way at the suffering of those dispossessed of this land; the prophet knows that this is contrary to the will of the Lord. And this has consequences. Jesus was rejected by his people (Mk 6: 1-6) and far from being afraid he proposed to his disciples to be missionaries to the point of accepting that rejection (Mk 6:11). Are you willing to accept the vocation of prophet?