The Prophet in our Midst

Israel's history as it was written in the Holy Writing was full of prophetic appearances.  Some came by way of the priesthood such as Isaiah and another came from the farm such as Amos.  None of them were entertaining and popular.  Jeremiah lamented the loneliness which was a part of his life and Ezekiel had to do a do-over as he went from the Temple to the River Chebar.  The one thing they all had in common was their commitment to speak what they heard from the Lord.  It was not an easy word to speak, but they spoke it, nonetheless. 

 

By the time of Jesus it seemed that there were no prophetic voices in Israel.  Some thought John the Baptist was a prophet because he looked like their image of a prophet and he spoke like a prophet.  It could be said with more truth than most would choose to admit that there is a lack of prophetic voices in today's religious communities.  Some voices which might claim to be prophetic are really political as the message gets filled with political rhetoric rather than a Word from God.   Of course, the pulpits are also too filled with those who fancy themselves as entertainers instead of preachers, or prophets.

A prophet is not a political pundit, or a predictor of things to come, but one whose ear is listening to the heart of God.  The prophet is one who senses the grief of God and cries with Him before the people.  The prophet is one who knows the unending love of God and dares to live it out it in the midst of a society that chooses up sides rather than choosing one another.  The prophet is one who dares to stand apart and speak what is received as such a Word from God that even those who do not want to receive it know that the source of the word is not from a human heart, but from the heart of God.