In the early days of our faith tradition, a group of people known as prophets were called to speak and preach about justice and truth. Sometimes their words were heeded; other times, they got themselves thrown in cisterns, or jail, or worse.
But they were doing what they felt God wanted and needed—to get the people back on track, to get them realigned to the laws and hopes God envisioned. Specifically, they needed to expand their society’s sense of community, and to broaden their individual sense of compassion.
Their job was not to foretell the future. This was strictly forbidden in Deuteronomy and Leviticus:No one shall be found among you … who practices divination or fortune telling (or soothsayer) … (Deuteronomy 18:9-12).
Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:31).
Instead, the prophet’s role—in serving God as the spokesperson to the people and on behalf of God’s desires—was to speak truth to power. That is, the prophets often told kings and influential people what they did not want to hear. They did the same to everyday people. They were to be aware of God’s expectation for an equitable society, where the poor and widows and orphans would be on equal footing with the rich and famous. The prophet offered consistent reminders of the following:
- God’s ideas for what is best and what ought to be, or what ought not to be
- What they, the king, the leaders, and the people were doing wrong
- What they all needed to do to repair, restore, and reconcile what was wrong
- What repairing, restoring, and reconciling would look and feel like
And while they were not foretelling or predicting the future, they were attempting to change the future. That is, they were calling on those to whom they were speaking to cease their selfishness, repent from their sinfulness, and reclaim the time-tested covenant relationship with Yahweh of justice and righteousness.
For a period of roughly six hundred years, from 1000 B.C. to 397 B.C. (Nathan was the first; Malachi was probably the last) prophets came and went, rose and fell. Repeatedly, voices were raised out of concern for the covenant, calling for repentance, humility, kindness, caring, fairness, and justice.
Just like in that time, our time has the need for such voices. We have voices raised in concern for the issues of our day, but we too quickly disregard their persistence, or bristle at their interference. Sometimes, like in the days of long ago, these voices are strange and off-putting. But, we ignore the warnings and pleas and calls for learning and improving how we live in the world and with one another at our own peril.
Living as faithful followers of Jesus in our world necessitates listening carefully, studying well, understanding fully and recognizing the ongoing revelation of God’s concerns in our day. As Christians, God calls us further to interpret issues ourselves, and when appropriate and needed, to speak to the current events and issues of the time. As it was in those days, every era needs that prophetic conscience to bring us back to center, to refocus time, attention, and resources to those critical points of society most bereft of attention.
The consistent target for prophets then, as it often is now, remains justice, peace, and compassion for those left out of the resources available to others. Jesus offered himself most fully to the marginalized. His focused compassion followed the example of those before him, and those attempting to follow him, voicing the unambiguous concerns that all should be full participants in God’s good creation.
What today would Jesus and the voices in his tradition address? Poverty, hunger, unequal opportunities and improper resource allocation remain pertinent issues. These are not new—homelessness, violence, the proliferation of guns, environmental concerns, skewed values, gaps between rich and poor, vastly unequal educational opportunities, increased competition and decreased compassion. And the prophets of today call for caring people to work harder on and express open concern for such issues.
We need these prophetic interpreters of trends; we need voices of eternal values to speak always with fresh perspective and vital insights. Too often, in every generation, we waver, distracted from the eternal and entranced with the superficial.
It is the prophets of the day, speaking truth to power, who offer the invaluable service of relevant faith in every age. Often unwanted, consistently unheeded, these prophets remain necessary always. The questions remain now as then—what are they saying? Are we ready, able, and willing to listen? And can we make the changes necessary and in time? Living with faith, then as now, demands that we answer these questions wisely, faithfully and quickly.