False Prophets
You go to church, "count" the sacraments, manifest your faith in rallies and processions, and even do great signs and healings? It is not enough. It enlightened me a bit when I read the Gospel for today. And I wanted to share this with you. Jesus warns the disciples against false prophets who are like wolves in sheep's clothing.
Who is a prophet anyway? It is definitely not someone who tells the future. Only in the context of the entire Gospel according to St. Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount it becomes more understandable. A prophet according to the New Testament preaches and testifies. Who is the true prophet? Jesus says this at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." So, being a true prophet is bringing light into the darkness of the world through all of Christ's disciples. How? Not only with words, but with deeds. A true prophet does what he says and what he believes. The true prophet knows that he has been chosen, gifted, called to the mission of saving the world not so much by words as by attitudes and actions. He does not focus on himself, but wants the Father to be praised, that people see the good in this life, looking at the life of a Christian.
The Second Vatican Council teaches that "Christ carries out his prophetic task until the full manifestation of his glory - not only through the hierarchy that teaches in his name and with his authority, but also through the laity, whom he has appointed witnesses and endowed with a sense of faith and grace of the words so that the power of the Gospel shines forth in everyday, family and social life”. And as an example, Council gives marriage and family life.
The Holy Father Francis, commenting on today's liturgical readings, noted that a prophet is a man who listens to the Word of God, who is able to perceive the right moment and look into the future. “As for the past, the prophet is aware of the promise and carries God's promise in his heart, lives it, remembers it, repeats it. Then he looks at the present moment, he looks at his people and feels the power of the Holy Spirit, who is giving him a word to help them arise, to continue on the way to the future. A prophet is a man of three times: a promise from the past; contemplation of the present moment; bravery to point the way to the future. And the Lord always guarded his people through the prophets, in difficult times, when the people were discouraged or crushed, when there was no temple, when Jerusalem was in the power of its enemies, when the people asked themselves: but Lord, you promised us, and what's happening now?”
And when the People of God is lacking prophecy, God's life is missing, all energy is focused on legal issues, legalism wins. An example may be the Gospel scene when the priests went to Jesus, demanding that he explain on what law he performed miracles and considered themselves to be the owners of the temple in Jerusalem. They did not understand the prophecies, they forgot the promise! They could not read the signs of the times, had no piercing eyes, and they did not listen to the Word of God: they only had power! Pope Francis remarked.
When there is no prophecy in the People of God, the existing emptiness is filled with clericalism: that clericalism that asks Jesus: "With what power do you do such things? By what law?". Then the memory of the promise and the hope to move towards the future are reduced only to the present: neither the past, nor the future that inspires hope. The present moment is only legal, said the Holy Father.
Is Clericalism a form of false prophecy?
It is interesting, then, that usually false prophets are viewed as external or internal enemies spreading erroneous teachings. Certainly, these are also what Jesus has in mind. But a Christian can also become a false prophet. How is the spirit of false prophecy manifested in the Church?
First, in moralism, which puts first what we should do to save ourselves, ignoring God's gifts, God's priority, the need to constantly receive God's grace. Then morality is separated from the sacraments. The homilies only proclaim what we should not do or do, and it is not linked to the source of grace that flows in the sacraments, the Word and prayer, and gives us the strength to fulfill these requirements.
Secondly, ritualism and ritual religiosity, which is separated from bearing fruit in the form of love for one's neighbor, changing internal attitudes, suppressing the first reflexes, the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Then it seems that all you need to do is go to church, "pass/receive" the sacraments, manifest your faith and belonging in rallies, processions and emblems, and even make great signs, healings. But there is no progress in loving one's neighbor. Moreover, there is still hostility, division, selfishness in relationships.
Third, clericalism that makes prophets only priests, which is convenient also for the lay faithful. Clericalism is also a form of false prophecy. Therefore, false prophecy consists in separating words from deeds, separating God from man and from everyday life, and introducing a division into the sacred and the profane.
When legalism reigns, there is no room for the Word of God, and the believing People of God cry in their hearts because they do not find the Lord: they lack prophecy.
“Weeps like Anna, the mother of Samuel, asking for the fruitfulness of the people, for the fruitfulness coming from God's power as He awakens in us the memory of His promise and pushes us towards a future marked by hope. That is what a prophet is! He is a man with a penetrating eye who hears the word of God” remarked Pope Francis.
Let us pray that there will be no lack of prophets in God's People. We all baptized are prophets. "Lord, let us not forget your promise! Let us go forward tirelessly! Let us not close ourselves to the legality closing of all the gate! Free your people, Lord, from the spirit of clericalism and help them through the spirit of prophecy" – prays Pope Francis.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george