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About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1987)
Supplement to The Georgia Bulletin, March 19, 1987 □ Faith Toda A supplement to Cotholic newspapers, published with grant assistance from Cath olic Church Extension Society, by the No tional Cotholic News Service, 1312 Massa chusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005. All contents copyright ® 1987 by NC News Service. Would you invite these folks back? Folse prophets may exasperate people by charging fees for their services and talking too much. But even true prophets may exasperate those who hear them. From its earliest days the church regarded prophecy os a gift of the Spirit. But what kind of gift is it? Is it the prophet's task to comfort people or to stir them up? If true prophets are not primarily forecasters of the future, whot in the world ore they? By Father Donald Talafous, OSB NC News Service A s we near the end of the 20th century, countless paperbacks will tell us the end is near and how it will happen. The same thing happened when Western Europe approached the year 1000; preachers all over Europe gave in to the temptation to declare that this was the end. All of this is based on the idea, bolstered by biblical passages, that a prophet foretells the future. But really, the biblical understanding of prophet is quite something else. He or she does not tell how much snow will fall at Aspen or what stock to buy. Instead, prophets are more like ly to tell us to reform our lives, to hear the voice of the poor, to work for peace. In the Bible, a prophet is one who claims to speak for God. In general, the message tends to be harsh rather than soothing. Abraham Heschel, a great rabbi who wrote eloquently of the pro phets, says that there is no evidence that anyone ever invited a prophet home for dinner more than once. Who would invite back a person likely to call other guests “snakes,” “skunks” or something equally inhospitable? The prophet speaks for God; the future comes into it only in sofar as the prophet warns of the consequences to come if God’s words are not heeded. True prophets are more con cerned with our living in accor dance with God’s word now than with excusing us from the exer cise of our freedom by telling us what will happen. The prophet wants us to work for justice and peace now. The prophet insists on our responsibility to make the future better with God’s grace. The prophet usually is short on comfort; he or she is not a flag- waving evangelist who tells us that our country is God’s and that our enemies are the focus of evil. Instead, the prophet says that the line between good and evil runs right down the center of each of us. In addition to the biblical pro phets there are prophets in the wider sense of the word: Those who shake us with upsetting messages about war and peace, wealth and poverty, self- righteousness and complacency. An artist, a poet, a child, a play, an unconventional friend, an un congenial professor or class, a TV documentary that bumps the Bill Cosby show or a Giants’ game, a lecture we dutifully drag ourselves to, anyone who exposes the ruts we re in — any of these may be prophets. □ □ □ Many prophets will be a pain in the neck. They tend to be unbearable extremists. Perhaps understandably so; they often have one narrow obsession. As long as these issues are not ad dressed, the prophets cannot see how anything can go on as usual. The Puritan view is the occupa tional hazard of the prophet: If my cause is the cause of God, then everything else is suspect. But no matter how exasperating prophets are, we need frank in dividuals who question mediocrity and inertia. Some prophets are reluctant to present the message; all of us are reluctant to hear it. We receive the prophet’s message with as much enthusiasm as a fan of Julio Iglesias would receive a tune by Twisted Sister. But all the more do we need their call to change, open and stretch our hearts. □ □ □ At the same time, prophets can be comforting, hopeful, inspiring, encouraging; they help us raise our chins off the ground, keep us from cynicism about others and about life. By greeting each day with a smile, prophets help those who wonder if it’s all worth the effort. People who encourage us to begin again and not be too easily defeated, who encourage the vir tues Christ taught — these certain ly can be seen as prophets. In more public ways there are people who warn us about endangering our environment, about neglecting the elderly or the sick, about ig noring the poor, who encourage us to seek peaceful solutions. Aren’t these serving a prophetic function? Determining when a person or that person’s message is authentic sometimes is difficult. To simplify somewhat, if the prophet lives in accord with his or her message; if what is urged is in accord with what our own conscience tells us; and if the prophet’s message serves to build up the community, to build up hope, faith, trust, love, then he or she is authentic. The message of Jesus and that of reliable prophets is always: Live now, be ready, trust, hope, love, be helpful, pray. (Father Talafous teaches theology at St. John’s University in Col- legeville, Minn.)
