Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Ez 2:2-5; Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6a
The last line of the reading from Ezekiel shouts from the page, “They shall know that a prophet has been among them.” It is a shout of the Lord that is meant to wake up the hard-hearted and rebellious people to which Ezekiel is sent.
Ezekiel is in a long line of prophets that stretches from Adam to Moses and from Elijah to John the Baptist. Adam was given a prophetic task when he was asked to name the creatures of the Earth. Naming was God’s job, and he shares it with Adam who speaks on behalf of God.
Moses is the one who saw God face to face and shared God’s word with the people of Israel. Each of the prophets of the Old Covenant is called to do the same, to speak the word that the Lord had given them to the people of Israel — specifically to prepare God’s people for the coming of the Messiah, the Christ.
Yet, the prophetic task is not completed with the coming of Jesus. Jesus in himself is the embodiment of the prophetic task. He who is the Word of God, speaks the Word of God.
He proclaims the word as life-giving to those who would hear him with open hearts like our Blessed Mother and the disciples. But he also speaks to those who were hard-hearted like those who lived in his native place and found him too much for them.
Even those who tried to evade his words recognized the power in them. Remember the Samaritan woman at the well. When Jesus asks a question that is a little too close to home for comfort, she responds, “Sir, I see you are a prophet.”
That prophetic task is passed on to his apostles in the great commission of Mark, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” That prophetic task was not an easy one and was opposed. All of the apostles died a martyr’s death – except John, who was sentenced to be killed for the faith but miraculously survived the torture.
So far, so safe. Because the job of a being a prophet is a noble, admirable and brave one — when somebody else has the job! But there is an inconvenient truth: the job of prophet does not end with the prophets of the Old Testament, or with Jesus, or even with his apostles and their successors. It is given to all the baptized.
Immediately after our baptism, we are anointed with the sacred chrism as the following words are prayed over us: “He now anoints you with the Chrism of salvation, so that you may remain as a member of Christ, Priest, Prophet and King, unto eternal life.”
Being a prophet is our job as well. We fulfill this prophetic calling every time we share some of God’s truth with another person. When God brings someone into your day and makes it clear they are struggling with something, go out of your way to assist them, even if it is in a small way. Sometimes the only truth a person needs preached is that they are loved and valuable.
Spend intentional time with God in prayer every day. It is impossible to be a prophet and share God’s word with others if we fail to know God’s word ourselves!
For parents raising children, read Scripture and other virtuous stories with them, explain feast days, live liturgically. Instruct the young in goodness, truth and beauty and be intentional about it. Don’t just hope it rubs off on them!
We are called to listen to God’s word and to speak it, whether it is comfortable to do so or not, so that those around us will know that there has been a prophet among them.
Msgr. Timothy Keeney is pastor of Incarnation, Charlottesville.