Consider yourself a prophet

What is the direct opposite of a false prophet? Presumably it is a true prophet, one whose authenticity is fairly plain to see.

Nov 25, 2015

By David Gibson
What is the direct opposite of a false prophet? Presumably it is a true prophet, one whose authenticity is fairly plain to see.

People known today as prophets hardly fit a pattern. But how can it be that one person's prophet is no prophet at all for others?

For example, prophets of the End Times, convinced that a chaotic, terrifying end of time is drawing near, always seem to be with us, always seem to garner a committed following and always seem to be considered false prophets by many.

Prophecy may not be an outdated topic in the 21st century, but prophecies offering frightening future predictions undoubtedly occupy a larger place in the public mind than contemporary prophecy in a biblical mode.

Because society tends to think of prophets as those who predict the future in compelling, detailed ways, conversations about the Judeo-Christian understanding of prophecy can experience a little trouble getting off the ground. The biblical understanding of prophecy, after all, is not anchored mainly in the future but in the present.

It is not that biblical prophets never looked to the future or warned about the consequences of neglecting God's word. But the biblical prophet's principal role was to draw people into God's word now and to make clear what, indeed, that word says.

A prophet is "the bearer and interpreter of the word of God," the Jerusalem Bible explains in its introduction to the Old Testament books of the prophets. God sends prophets to remind believers "of their duty to God and to bring them back to obedience and love."

Everyone who is baptized is a prophet, Pope Francis said in a December 2013 homily. A prophet, Vatican Radio reported him saying, "is someone who listens to the words of God, who reads the spirit of the times and who knows how to move forward toward the future."

True prophets, he added, "keep the promise of God alive, they see the suffering of their people and they bring us the strength to look ahead."

A list of five qualities of prophetic Christians was presented by Pope Francis in an apostolic letter for the Year of Consecrated Life that concludes in the church Feb. 2, 2016. He stressed that religious order members "must never abandon prophecy."

First, he said, "prophets receive from God the ability to scrutinize the times in which they live and to interpret events: They are like sentinels who keep watch in the night and sense the coming of the dawn."

Second, "prophets know God, and they know the men and women who are their brothers and sisters."

Third, prophets "are able to discern and denounce the evil of sin and injustice."

Fourth, prophets, "because they are free," are "beholden to no one but God."

Fifth, "prophets tend to be on the side of the poor and the powerless, for they know that God himself is on their side."

A false prophet uses "religion for himself," Pope Francis suggested in an interview published in September 2013 by several Jesuit publications. He cautioned that "if one has the answers to all the questions, that is proof that God is not with him."

A true prophet may sometimes make "waves," the pope acknowledged. Yet, he said, this is someone who "announces the spirit of the Gospel," someone who serves others in ways that, while not timid, are "always positive."

The messages of some would-be prophets appear to be all about themselves. They seize the center stage and have a talent for occupying it in self-focused ways. But consider the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, who literally begged God not to place him center stage.

God said to Jeremiah, "Before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations." But Jeremiah said to God, "I do not know how to speak. I am too young."

Then God replied: "Do not say, 'I am too young.' To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak."

God then "extended his hand," touching Jeremiah's mouth, and said to him, "See, I place my words in your mouth!" (Jer 1:5, 6-7, 9).

This famed passage illustrates what a biblical prophet really is. As a prophet, Jeremiah was neither self-focused nor self-aggrandizing. Jeremiah was God's spokesman.

That is what prophets do. They speak for God.

Prophetic believers call out to other believers, urging them to listen once again to God's word and reminding them just what that word says. Frequently, the biblical prophets reminded their communities of God's demand that the poor be treated kindly and justly.

Often, actions speak louder than words on a prophet's part. I proposed earlier that a true prophet is someone whose authenticity is "fairly plain to see." In other words, prophets of a biblical mode are recognized for their integrity.

Prophets witness to God's word. And as Blessed Paul VI once said, people in contemporary times listen "more willingly to witnesses than to teachers," and if they do "listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses."--TrentonMonitor.com