The Challenging Gift Of Prophecy

Thursday of the 3rd week in Lent

When one commits himself to Christ in Baptism, three gifts come along with that commitment. Just as Jesus was, the Holy Spirit anoints the Christian to be priest, prophet, and leader. Jesus Himself was a priest according to the order of Melchisedek, not Levi or Aaron, a prophet like Elijah, and, of course, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Most Christians take gladly the priestly function, because believers are always asking for prayer, and that’s what priests do. We all look forward to heaven when we will rule over even the angels. And when we are called to lead some Christian ministry, as long as it’s not too demanding we ordinarily say “yes.”

The gift of prophecy, however, is not as often embraced with enthusiasm. If we are familiar with the letter to the Hebrews, we are reminded that prophets are persecuted, hounded, even killed. Jeremiah is the paradigm of prophecy in that mindset. Cisterns are great in a drought if you have filled them with water ahead of time, but both Jeremiah and Jesus were imprisoned for a time in dry cisterns. People get stuck in bad habits—drinking, smoking, using drugs or sex to substitute for a relationship with God. And when somebody calls them on that behavior, they can get defensive, even abusive, to the prophet.

Look at Jesus in this Gospel lesson. A man was possessed by a demon who kept him from speaking. Jesus cast the demon out so that the man was able to speak. Before that, even a “thank you” was beyond the man’s powers. And somebody watching the scene, likely a scribe or Pharisee, accused Jesus of using the power of Satan—Beelzebul—to effect the exorcism. Jesus refuted that opinion by pointing out that if Satan was casting out his minions, he would be ruining his own power by using it to make God look good. Jesus was not above using the power of logic to make a point. And He then skewered the skeptics by asking them who gave the skeptics and their disciples power to cast out demons.

So Jesus exercising the gift of prophecy did not always bring about immediate growth in the population of the kingdom of God, and it will seldom do that for us. Jeremiah predicted that would happen hundreds of years earlier. He told his listeners to hear God’s command and follow it, but they did not obey or incline their ears, and instead walked in their own stubbornness of heart. Their reward was conquest and exile under the power of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. God told Jeremiah that would happen. Jesus told His disciples that would happen. And it will, way too often, happen to us.

But God does not will the eternal damnation of those who turn away from His commands. Just the opposite. He wills that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of Truth, who is His Son, Jesus Christ. God gives all who follow Him the grace to be saved from sin and death. We cannot, then, stop proclaiming this all-important truth to the men and women and children in our society. Of course, we need always to consider the needs of the people we are talking with, and exercise prudence and sensitivity. Few people respond to talks with hell and brimstone featured. We may have to suffer some embarrassment or even social cancelling, but if we are not with Christ in this prophetic mission, He tells us that we are in the worst possible position—against Christ.