In our modern world, when we hear prophecy, we often have a very specific idea in mind: someone who knows the future for certain, who speaks of this future in mysterious language. Those who hear the prophecy can only try to understand it, and any attempts to defy it will fail. (Indeed, often those attempts are what make it come to pass.) This is how today’s literature and movies often portray prophecy, but the biblical concept of prophecy is very different. 
 
Biblical prophecy is typically direct. God doesn’t play games with us. He wants to set us up for success, and His prophecies are clear and not easily misunderstood. Even when we look at truly ancient texts, like those that make up the Old Testament, biblical scholars can easily identify over 300 prophecies that directly predicted the coming of Jesus. 
 
Perhaps more importantly, biblical prophecy is not a guarantee. Indeed, in many cases, God’s hope was that the prophecies would not come to pass! Prophecies typically speak of how the future could be, with negative prophecies encouraging God’s people to repent of their sin and positive prophecies encouraging them to continue in righteousness and holiness. Repentance led to forgiveness, like the city of Nineveh, which repented as soon as they heard Jonah’s prophecy. 
 
This can lead to some philosophical confusion. Doesn’t God know everything that has happened and will happen? If yes, how can prophecies leave us open to an uncertain future? 
 
Many different people have tried to answer this question. The answer most compelling to me draws on the way we relate to God – that is, our free will. God did not make us robots that are instantly obedient to Him. He could have, but He wanted more for us. He wanted us to choose to love Him and, in order to choose, we need freedom. The free will God gives us means that we are free to choose Him, and we are free not to. Like a loving parent, when we push ourselves away from God He continues to seek us out. In this context, prophecies are for us – they’re an opportunity to hear God’s voice and to decide to turn toward Him. 
 
He knows whether or not we’ll come back to him at any given opportunity, but what’s truly important is that we know He’s trying. Prophecy is one of many ways God shows His love for us by reaching out to us. 
 
Today’s Christians understand biblical prophecy as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift still alive and well today! If you’ve heard God’s voice speaking clearly to you, or if you’ve heard a pastor preach and it seemed to be aimed directly at you, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced the gift of prophecy. Discernment is important – God’s voice usually comes with a deep sense of peace and clarity, and listening to Him bears beautiful fruit. He is always seeking us, from the time of Moses to the modern day, and He delights every time we hear His voice.


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Jenna Young

What does it mean to be a fisher of people? How do I share the good news?

When I first began reflecting on this reading, I was stuck on the feeling that I’m no good at evangelizing because I tend not to speak openly about my faith or my personal relationship with Jesus Christ outside of our church community. For instance, a lot of people know I’m a church musician, but not how central God actually is to my life.

But as I shared this with my partner, he challenged me: rather than reflecting on my own feelings of inferiority, he helped me see the opposite reality in my actions. In particular, my partner noted how my music touches people’s lives in ways that I’m not always aware of. 

Since I became an organist, I’ve invited people from all walks of my life to come and hear the organ, whether at Mass, in a formal recital, or at Holy Hour, which is an endeavour that my partner and I recently started and lead together. I’ve played the organ for school friends who no longer go to church, but ask if I can play that hymn that always reminds them of their grandmother. I’ve invited architecture enthusiasts from my local coffee shop to come to Christmas Midnight Mass, because they’re curious to hear the mighty organ reverberate through the beautiful Cathedral.

So many people love music. When an old colleague asked if any musical events were happening at the Cathedral this past Christmas, I invited her to drop by a Holy Hour, which was a mixture of prayer, reflective time, and music (singing and pipe organ). She did stop by and later told me how beautiful and spiritual she had found the quiet time. She expressed gratefulness for an event like Holy Hour, because it helped get her “in the door,” so to speak. Another old friend, non-church-going, has been following my journey with the pipe organ for years but never been able to come and hear it due to his work schedule. Recently, he was able to stop by Holy Hour. To my great surprise, he stayed almost two hours, and shared with me how the silence, beauty, and mystery was impacting his heart in an inexplicable way.

My partner reminded me that while evangelization can mean talking explicitly about Jesus, it can also be as simple as inviting others to have an opportunity to encounter Christ, to partake in a moment and share in the beauty of the Church. I am learning that through music, I can share how much I know that I am loved by the Father and perhaps give others a moment to open their hearts to Him, too. Each of these moments is a moment of evangelization.

Our Heavenly Father knows each of us by name. He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, and most importantly our hearts. I think the lesson for me this week is that the Good News can be shared in many ways. God knows how best He can use me and my heart to touch others’ hearts — to be a fisher of people. And He knows how, and by whom, my heart can best be reached, too. Let us continue to share our hearts, our gifts, and our talents, and give each other moments to encounter our risen Lord, Jesus Christ!




Kim Tan