Called to be a Prophet

Fr Chris Thomas from the Emmaus Family of Prayer reflects on the message of Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche and Faith & Light, about what it means to be a prophet in the world today.

Nearly 700 people were at Southport’s Floral hall from the 8th to the 9th of September to listen to the wisdom of Jean Vanier. It was the most extraordinary experience to listen to this man who with humility and courage proclaimed the Gospel of love. He reinforced time and time again the dignity and uniqueness of the human person. His very presence was a sign of the God he proclaimed, a God of love and forgiveness. He challenged us to remember that in a broken world we are to love whatever the cost. He invited us to be people of compassion whose lives exude that quality that seems to be so sadly missing in today’s world

As I listened to Jean Vanier I realised that I wasn’t hearing anything new, I was simply listening to someone who had read the signs of the times and was speaking truth into them. I realised that here was a man who was living out the call of his Baptism to be prophetic and the biggest challenge I faced as I listened to him was in recognising my failure to be prophetic in the words I speak, in the way I live my life, in my compassion, care and love for my brothers and sisters

When Come & See was over I began to reflect on that call to be prophetic and asked myself what that means? The English word prophet comes from the Greek word prophetas, which means one who speaks before others. It seems as though the prophet doesn’t necessarily speak about the future but rather sees clearly into the present and speaks what he or she hears to the world. Jean Vanier certainly did that and as Church and as individuals we’re called to do the same.

So what are prophets like? If you look at the Prophets in the Old Testament you find that they are usually optimistic because they believe in the power of God’s love and see it breaking through, bringing salvation and new life. And they believe in that love with a passion. They carry a confidence in their hearts that ultimately God will be triumphant. They know that God is God alone and are willing to spend their lives in proclaiming God’s truth. Even Jeremiah and Ezekiel with all their doom and gloom believe that ultimately God will be God and that brings hope. In Jean Vanier I saw a man who trusted in God and who because of that was full of joy and hope.

How do prophets live?

How do prophets live? Richard Rohr in his book Great Themes of Scripture says that if you read the Old Testament and the prophets in particular you’ll discover that human beings are called to be three things, secular, social and eschatological and that prophets live out that call in their own lives.

We’ve narrowed the word sacred to refer to a very small religious world. What the Scriptures are saying to us is that all things are sacred because God is intimately involved in the world. Jean Vanier reminded us of this. Christianity is not about being other worldly. Prophets are people who remind the world of how sacred it is. We are to be real people who speak God’s truth into the reality of this world, a world which has lost sight of its innate holiness. The Old Testament Prophets have a social awareness. The people of God were not individuals but communitarian. They believed in one God and became one people. They came to understand community. Sadly in the West we don’t understand community. Instead it is about the individual and self-fulfilment. Even amongst Christians we pay lip service to the notion of community. It’s all about me and my relationship with God. It’s my prayers and my Mass. Salvation is about me getting saved and getting to heaven. Jean Vanier reminded us that we are part of something bigger and have a duty and responsibility to others.

The word Eschaton is Greek for the last things. The reason the prophets of the old Testament could be called eschatological was because they understood the end. History was going somewhere and had meaning and significance. Most of us live as though there is only the present. We don’t see the big picture. We forget where we come from and we don’t see where we’re going. Again Jean Vanier called us into the bigger picture.

So we’re called to be prophets, not comfortable and always demanding. We’re called to be real people not escaping into “a pie in the sky” Christianity but speaking God’s word into human reality, reminding people of their dignity and the sacredness of the world, calling people to recognise that we are family, living in joyful hope. This is because ultimately God holds all things and all things have a purpose and an end to which they are moving.

We’re at that time of the year again when we are beginning to rev up to Christmas. The Church tells us to slow down and reflect. Advent is a time when we hear lots of prophecy from the Old Testament prophets. They challenge us to speak God’s word into our broken world. Let’s hear the call they give us to be prophets in this day and age, having the courage to live out our Baptismal calling and bringing life to others.

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Nearly 700 people were at Southport’s Floral hall from the 8th to the 9th of September to listen to the wisdom of Jean Vanier. It was the most extraordinary experience to listen to this man who with humility and courage proclaimed the Gospel of love. He reinforced time and time again the dignity and uniqueness of the human person. His very presence was a sign of the God he proclaimed, a God of love and forgiveness. He challenged us to remember that in a broken world we are to love whatever the cost. He invited us to be people of compassion whose lives exude that quality that seems to be so sadly missing in today’s world As I listened to Jean Vanier I realised that I wasn’t hearing anything new, I was simply listening to someone who had read the signs of the times and was speaking truth into them. I realised that here was a man who was living out the call of his Baptism to be prophetic and the biggest challenge I faced as I listened to him was in recognising my failure to be prophetic in the words I speak, in the way I live my life, in my compassion, care and love for my brothers and sisters When Come & See was over I began to reflect on that call to be prophetic and asked myself what that means? The English word prophet comes from the Greek word prophetas, which means one who speaks before others. It seems as though the prophet doesn’t necessarily speak about the future but rather sees clearly into the present and speaks what he or she hears to the world. Jean Vanier certainly did that and as Church and as individuals we’re called to do the same. So what are prophets like? If you look at the Prophets in the Old Testament you find that they are usually optimistic because they believe in the power of God’s love and see it breaking through, bringing salvation and new life. And they believe in that love with a passion. They carry a confidence in their hearts that ultimately God will be triumphant. They know that God is God alone and are willing to spend their lives in proclaiming God’s truth. Even Jeremiah and Ezekiel with all their doom and gloom believe that ultimately God will be God and that brings hope. In Jean Vanier I saw a man who trusted in God and who because of that was full of joy and hope. How do prophets live? How do prophets live? Richard Rohr in his book Great Themes of Scripture says that if you read the Old Testament and the prophets in particular you’ll discover that human beings are called to be three things, secular, social and eschatological and that prophets live out that call in their own lives. We’ve narrowed the word sacred to refer to a very small religious world. What the Scriptures are saying to us is that all things are sacred because God is intimately involved in the world. Jean Vanier reminded us of this. Christianity is not about being other worldly. Prophets are people who remind the world of how sacred it is. We are to be real people who speak God’s truth into the reality of this world, a world which has lost sight of its innate holiness. The Old Testament Prophets have a social awareness. The people of God were not individuals but communitarian. They believed in one God and became one people. They came to understand community. Sadly in the West we don’t understand community. Instead it is about the individual and self-fulfilment. Even amongst Christians we pay lip service to the notion of community. It’s all about me and my relationship with God. It’s my prayers and my Mass. Salvation is about me getting saved and getting to heaven. Jean Vanier reminded us that we are part of something bigger and have a duty and responsibility to others. The word Eschaton is Greek for the last things. The reason the prophets of the old Testament could be called eschatological was because they understood the end. History was going somewhere and had meaning and significance. Most of us live as though there is only the present. We don’t see the big picture. We forget where we come from and we don’t see where we’re going. Again Jean Vanier called us into the bigger picture. So we’re called to be prophets, not comfortable and always demanding. We’re called to be real people not escaping into “a pie in the sky” Christianity but speaking God’s word into human reality, reminding people of their dignity and the sacredness of the world, calling people to recognise that we are family, living in joyful hope. This is because ultimately God holds all things and all things have a purpose and an end to which they are moving. We’re at that time of the year again when we are beginning to rev up to Christmas. The Church tells us to slow down and reflect. Advent is a time when we hear lots of prophecy from the Old Testament prophets. They challenge us to speak God’s word into our broken world. Let’s hear the call they give us to be prophets in this day and age, having the courage to live out our Baptismal calling and bringing life to others. << Top Home >>