This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
We may become frustrated with “the Church”–by which we mean bishops and priests–at times because of their failure to proclaim tough messages. And indeed, today’s first reading warns the prophet that if he does not give the tough message, that is, the message about the need for conversion and the consequences of failing to convert, the prophet himself will be held accountable for the wicked man’s wicked ways.
And, we may rightly think of bishops and priests as today’s prophets, those entrusted with preaching the message of conversion. We may lament that they may appear surrounded by praise and enjoy a relatively care-free life in terms of their own material well-being. They can begin to prioritize sustaining status quo, and the temptation to complacency and “not rocking the boat” can be very real. It can be even more real at times, perhaps, than their own relationship with Christ in contemplative prayer, and their duty before Him to be prophets and (like Him) signs of contradiction.
When such thoughts get us down, we must remember 1) that the prevalence of complacency among leaders has afflicted the Church for all time, and even the people of Israel before Christ; 2) that bishops and priests are human beings with the same strong tendency to sin and mediocrity from which we all suffer, with circumstances that paradoxically make mediocrity even more tempting, and we must pray for them with a merciful heart; and 3) perhaps most importantly, that the prophetic mission does not belong solely to them, but also to you and me.
Every single Christian participates by baptism in the threefold mission and duty of the priest to act as “priest, prophet, and king”–to intercede and offer sacrifice for the Church, proclaim the message of the Gospel (with all its prickliness), and to lead the people of God to Christ.
Do we hold back tough messages that may be precisely what someone needs to hear to convert their hearts to Christ? Do we thereby put our worldly sense of security ahead of the eternal welfare of our neighbor? Are we too concerned about bland peace to provide others with the stimulus that will wake people up from their blithe stupor regarding their eternal destiny?
It is too easy to point the finger at bishops and priests–men who, after all, with all their imperfections, have given their whole lives over to service of the Church at great personal sacrifice–and never once turn the lens on ourselves. Yet we too, as Christians accountable for the prophetic mission of the Church, will be accountable for the wicked deeds of the wicked man, if we have the opportunity to warn him about the path he is on and fail to do so.
In today’s gospel, however, Jesus makes it clear that railing against the wicked from the top of tall buildings just for the sake of doing so has no value. Our aim must not be to check the prophet box, but really to lead others to a full conversion to Christ. This involves appealing to them in private, in words they can understand. We may also say that it involves picking our moment, and tailoring our expression of the message for greatest possible impact and likelihood of receptivity.
Still, we must never allow a false prudence, masking our own attachment to our personal comfort, keep us from words and actions that can lead others to the incomparable joy of a relationship with Jesus Christ–even if those words and actions involve awkwardness or risk to ourselves.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to send you His Holy Spirit to show you clearly when it is time to speak up for Christ. And trust Him to do so. He knows your weakness. He knows your reticence or, perhaps, your lack of tact–whatever it is that makes it difficult for you to be a prophet. And, just as a good father doesn’t give his son a scorpion when he asks for a fish, Jesus will not fail to send us the Holy Spirit to lead us reliably and avoid sins of prophetic omission, if we sincerely ask Him to do so. And, let’s be generous and merciful enough to humbly ask Him to do the same for our beloved bishops and priests.
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