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.)
