The prophets are sent by God with a message that often causes disturbance and division
We have recently been affected by the smoke that is coming into our area from the Canadian and Western United States wildfires. They could be for us a symbol of what the Gospel talks about on the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, when Jesus says that He is here to set a fire on the Earth. The Gospel speaks about division to its deepest extent, including within families and close relationships.
Throughout the history of God’s work among His people, there are people who God sends to figuratively start fires on the Earth. One word we use to describe them is prophets. They have a particular mission, always with a message that causes disturbance and division. Sometimes those messages are directed toward Church leaders, sometimes toward political leaders and sometimes toward the community of God’s people. It is often a message that the receiving parties don’t like and would rather have silenced. Prophets are killed, exiled and beaten. They are threatened if they don’t shut their mouth and often resort to words and symbols to get people’s attention and to be faithful to the message they’ve been given by God.
In the Scriptures this weekend, we are reminded of the great prophet Jeremiah. He did some great work for God at great cost to himself. His life was threatened often, but in the end, he lit the fire he was meant to light.
If one were to examine the messages of the prophets and why they caused so much division, we would be able to unearth one ongoing theme that is being proclaimed. The message often has something to do with how God intends for one individual or group of people to treat another group of people, usually the downcast and the needy. Church leaders, political leaders and other people lose sight of those who are most in need. Comfort and luxury allow us to be separated from those most in need because we can live and move in ways that keep them out of our sight. Our possessions or our positions can make our lives more comfortable at the expense of others. After a while, we begin to believe that we are entitled to that convenience or that somehow we have earned it more than other people
The Scripture passage is clear that God hears the cry of the poor. Woe be to those who do not hear the cry of the poor and act to alleviate their need. As always, we can deny the message of the prophets and do everything we can to shut them up, or we can feel guilty and ashamed and stop there. Our job is to receive the call of the prophets sent by God, decipher how we are to carry out that mission here on earth and then to actually do it. We can be assured that it will always cost us something; we will be a little bit more uncomfortable and put in situations that we’re unfamiliar with. The true prophet causes us to look at our own life and choices and not make judgments about other people.
Look no further than the corporal works of mercy. Look no further than soup kitchens, prisons, food banks or disaster relief. Look no further than forgiving our enemies and doing good to those who would hurt us. That will keep most of us busy for the rest of our lives.
Father Donald Wester is retired and serves as lecturer of homiletics at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
