Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
So
often I think when Catholics hear the word “prophet,” we think of someone who
can foretell the future. In fact,
in the Biblical accounts, while prophets do sometimes tell people what will
happen as a result of their sin or conversion, the prophets are the ones who
speak for God. Their job is not to
say on what exact date the world is going to end (apparently that job was
already taken by the Mayans), or which lottery numbers to play, but to speak
for God. And in our first reading,
we hear how God pours out a spirit of prophecy of 70 elders. Towards the end of the passage today,
Joshua gets a little envious, and is upset that Eldad and Medad, who were
outside the camp when they were supposed to be with Moses, still received the
spirit of prophecy. Moses then
prophesies, “‘Would that all the people of the Lord
were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them
all!’” That prophecy was fulfilled
at Pentecost, when the Lord poured out His Spirit upon the Blessed Mother, the
Apostles, and the Disciples gathered in the Upper Room. And then the Lord poured out His spirit
on the new believers.
We,
for our part, have also been made prophets. The Lord has poured out His Spirit on us in Baptism and
Confirmation. At Baptism we were
anointed with the Sacred Chrism, which reminded us that we are now a member of the Anointed One, the Messiah, the
Christ, and we share in his priestly, prophetic, and kingly ministry of all the
faithful. In Confirmation, the
Bishop or Priest called down the Holy Spirit upon us through prayer, and then
anointed us again with the Sacred Chrism to seal us with the gift of the Holy
Spirit. And so, the prophecy of
Moses was fulfilled in us as we were made prophets, those who speak for God.
As
a good examination of conscience we can ask ourselves: how do we speak for God,
both by our words (the prophets of the Old Testament are always saying, “Thus
says the Lord”) and by our deeds (like when Jeremiah made the clay pot, or
Ezekiel acted as if he were in exile)?
Are
we a prophet when it comes to defending the dignity of the poor and truly
assisting them? People can debate
the best way to help the poor legitimately. But, as prophets, we must ensure that the poor, widows, and
orphans, those whom the Lord favors, are protected from neglect and are not
punished for their lack of means.
Are we a prophet when it comes to defending the dignity and definition
of marriage? Our culture is really
confused about marriage right now.
But we know that marriage was created by God as the union between one
man and one woman for life, and that good, happy, holy marriages should be
protected because of the important role they play in forming good, happy, and
holy societies. Are we a prophet
for the infant in the womb and the homebound, who are so often neglected? Do we give those who do not have a
voice our voice and speak for God so that mothers and fathers can make the only
good choice, the choice for life, and so that the homebound are not “done away
with” because they are a burden to society? Are we prophets for religious freedom, the God-given right
that we have to worship and to take what we have received in worship into the
public sector and not be punished for our beliefs or for serving those who are
not Catholic?
Are
we prophets by what we say and what we do (and in this election year, being a
prophet includes speak for God when we vote)? When we are not prophets, by what we say and by what we do,
then we causes others to sin by assisting them in thinking that God’s message
does not really matter; that we can separate what we believe and how we
live. That is the sin of scandal,
and it occurs when, by our words or actions, we provide a witness that does not
live up to our prophetic call to speak for God, so that others do not consider,
for example, protecting the poor, the infant in the womb, the homebound, the
true definition of marriage, and religious freedom. When we don’t exercise our prophetic vocation that we
received in Baptism and Confirmation, others notice: when they know that as
Christians we are called to assist the poor as an act of charity, and yet we
make wealth and possessions our little idols; when we say we’re pro-life but
then our actions don’t reflect that belief; when we don’t assist married
couples, especially when times are difficult for them; when we are silent in
the midst of the government telling us that they will decide who qualifies for
conscience protection; then we cause scandal and lead others to think that
those issues don’t really matter.
And if that happens, woe to us, because Jesus is quite clear what we can
expect: “‘it would be better for him [or her] if a great millstone were put
around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.’”
But,
when we live up to our prophetic call to infuse the culture, our families, our
neighborhoods, our jobs, politics, and all aspects of life with the message of
God, the Gospel, then we will not lose our reward. When we speak for God and not for ourselves, then others
will know what God wants for this world in order that all people might life in
peace, justice, and the love of God.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you, because He has anointed you. Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
