Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Felix Ferrer SVD – Divine Word Seminary, Tagaytay City
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B
After our baptism, we share Christ’s prophetic function. We used to connect the prophetic function easily with predicting the future or foretelling what will happen. It is like having a crystal ball and telling you what he/she sees. But from a Christian perspective, a prophet observes the present and tries to confront those who are oppressing especially the poor and the marginalized.
A prophet remains free enough to imagine different ways of proclaiming the gospel of Christ. If we look at our present situation in the country, we witness a lot of things that have to be corrected or changed. A prophet cannot just remain silent in the midst of injustices and abuses. But the question still is: “Who listens to prophets nowadays?”
The first reading seems to convey an attitude of resignation in a situation where nothing happens even if a prophet has been sent there: “And whether they hear or resist—they are a rebellious house—they shall know that a prophet has been among them.”
In the good news of today, Jesus also declares: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”
Both instances show to us that the prophet seems no longer respected or given importance. But analyzing both passages more deeply, we see that the role of the prophet is to be countercultural in the sense that it emphasizes alternative values and ways of living.
We call to mind Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who started out as a mediocre Bishop – not minding what was happening to his people. But after he himself witnessed and experienced the brutality of the military and the “powers that be,” slowly he began to be the real prophet for the people – the voice for the voiceless.
The prophet is more needed than ever. In one passage of Jeremiah, there is a wish: “Would that all were prophets!” May we be the true prophets that we are called and meant to be!
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