Being a Prophet

​A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, September 29th, 2024:
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Numbers
11.25-29

​The Lord came down in the cloud, took some of the spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders. When the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

“Would that all the Lord’s people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”
 
When I encountered these words, I thought, “Moses, I’m totally with you on the second bit there — would that all the Lord’s people would be filled with the Holy Spirit — but I have some reservations about the ‘being a prophet’ bit.”

Prophets have always had a tough row to hoe. When Dale Carnegie wrote his famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People, he never once advised his readers, “Just act like a prophet!” The prophet’s role, from ancient to modern times, has been to speak out when others are not acting as they should — “Pardon me, but I feel I must warn you against continuing on this particular path” — and then encourage them to mend their ways. The problem is that most people dislike being told they’re wrong. So, prophets get on people’s nerves. And, when they get on people’s nerves bad things tend to happen to them. The Bible has quite a few examples. We have Jeremiah, who was cast into a muddy well and left to die; Isaiah, who was sawn in half; Zechariah, who was stoned to death; and John the Baptist, who was beheaded. To be fair, some prophets did die of old age, but few ever won a popularity contest.
 
So why then — getting back to Moses’ comment — should all the Lord’s people be prophets? Furthermore, can we all be prophets? It seems reasonable to assume that Moses is not suggesting that every believer is suited to a prophesying career. After all, if everyone was a prophet, who would do the farming, the teaching and the building of homes? Perhaps, instead, what his exhortation means is that we are all called in certain ways and at certain times to be a prophet.
 
Earlier this year, Pope Francis defined the modern prophet as a witness of God’s truth and “a reflection of Christ’s light on the path of [her] brothers and sisters.” It is the prophet’s role (and, as baptized people, our responsibility) to challenge the status quo when it fails to align with the will of God and to invite others to repentance. Those called by God to hold governments, lawmakers and educating bodies accountable may find prophesying a full-time job. But the rest of us are simply called to light the path for our friends, family or parish community in the way Pope Francis identifies and to “welcome other Christians in their identity as prophets.” This is why it is so important for us to live a holy life, praying, connecting with the Holy Spirit, reading Scripture and living in loving community — because these practices help to prepare us for times when God calls us to shed Christ’s light on the paths of others and others to shed light on our path. So, whether we’re a “capital P Prophet” or a “small p prophet,” when the call comes, we must at the very least, reply, “Not ready, Lord, but willing.”


​
Donna Davis

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