In today’s Gospel
Jesus speaks about John the Baptist. He asks the people, What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the
wind?.....A prophet?......And more than a prophet...[1]
Hebrew Scriptures
present many prophets. The prophets were dynamic. They challenged people to
listen, to change and to follow. Some
stood up to kings to support justice, like Nathan did when he told King David
that he had sinned against God and Uriah when he stole Uriah’s wife and then
had Uriah killed. Elijah did something similar when he stood up to King Ahab
accusing him of having the just man Nabaoth killed because he wanted Nabaoth's
vineyard. The prophet Samuel anointed Saul to be a king and then, after Saul
did not carry out God's, he anointed
David.
Some prophets
spoke in symbolic ways, like Hosea. He took Gomer, a prostitute, as a wife. She
was unfaithful to him as a sign of how the people had responded to God’s gifts.
Some prophets were members of the King’s court, like Jeremiah; others were
everyday people, like Amos, a trimmer of Sycamore trees. The prophets were
differed one for the other, but their message was always the same, “Repent and
Reform.”
This message was
continued by John the Baptist as he called people to the Lord. He didn’t hedge
on the truth. He didn’t tell people what
he thought they wanted to hear. He didn’t go along with the morality or
immorality of the day. He was not a reed shaken by the wind. He proclaimed the
truth. And the truth attracted people. His baptism was a baptism of repentance,
and people willing plunged into the Jordan River determined to change their
lives.
What do we go
out to the desert to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Do we
come to Church to receive a lovely emotional experience with a wink towards
morality, an implied permission to join the immorality of the day? Do we
want our priest and deacons to proclaim a new morality, one which is not
authentic. No, we go to Church for the grace and the encouragement to stand up
to the pressures of society.
Who do people
come to you to see? You have members of your families, friends, workmates, and
classmates etc who come to you with their questions. Are they coming to see a
reed shaken by the wind? Or are they seeking someone who is willing to tell the
truth of the Lord? You are prophets, you know. We all are! A prophet is someone
who is committed to the truth of God. People come to us all, priests, deacons
and people of the parish, to hear the truth. People have a right to hear the
truth. Catholics have a responsibility to proclaim it.
The truth is
attractive. It leads is to a better understanding of whom we are. It directs us
to where we can find happiness. Truth is attractive because it sets us free to
be whom God created us to be.
This Sunday is Gaudete or Rejoice Sunday. It is the
Sunday that we focus on the joy we have that the Lord came into the world and
will continue to come into our lives. We love Him. We want to follow Him. And
yes, that might mean denying ourselves what everyone else says is the new way
of life. But we refuse to deny ourselves that which really matters, the
Presence of God.
The world needs
prophets. The world needs people who will live the Truth of God as well as
proclaim His Truth. We need prophets. And we need to be prophets for others.
Our courage to live our faith will bring others to joy, so let us pray today
for the courage to live our faith, the courage to be Prophets of the Truth, the
courage to be prophets of the Lord ■
[1] Third Sunday of Advent A,
December 15, 2013. Readings: Isaiah 35:1-6A, 10; Responsorial Psalm 72:1-2,
7-8, 12-13, 17; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11.
