We are called to carry on the prophetic mission of Jesus in word and deed, even when it places us at odds with the culture. By Mark Etling, PhD
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SERGIO YONEDA/ISTOCK
n our day, we have seen and heard about men and women who embody the prophetic spirit of the Judeo-Christian faith: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, Nelson Mandela, Jean Donovan, Archbishop Oscar Romero. Because of their extraordinary lives, it’s easy to distance ourselves from them, to consider them somehow superhuman, and therefore to excuse ourselves from having to imitate them in any serious way. But in reality, each of us is called, within the circumstances of our everyday lives, to be a prophet. In this article, I will discuss what it means to be a prophet in the JudeoChristian tradition, the source of our call to prophetic witness, and the specific ways we can carry out Jesus’ prophetic mission in every aspect of our lives.
WHAT IS A PROPHET?
Many of us were taught that prophets were seers who foretold God’s actions centuries before they took place. In Isaiah
7:14, the prophet declares to King Ahaz, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.” This, we were told, was a prediction of the coming of Jesus more than 700 years later. But over the past several decades, biblical scholars have given us a different and more accurate portrait of the Old Testament prophets—one that views them as persons of deep insight rather than foresight. THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS
Although the times, places, and circumstances of their ministries differ greatly, the careers of the Old Testament prophets follow a similar pattern: 1. The prophet is called by God. Isaiah relates that he received his call in a vision. Typical of the prophets, he declares his unworthiness. But this does not deter God. He asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” StAnthonyMessenger.org | August 2021 • 23
