Recently, some people decried the way prophetic voices are treated today. It seems odd that people are surprised or confused. Prophetic voices have always been devalued, unappreciated, or misinterpreted by authoritative power structures.
When the ancient prophets began speaking words representing God’s Truth to power, a little more than 3,000 years ago, they were seldom affirmed. Throughout the centuries, prophets lived at the edge of society. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Malachi were influential from the periphery and did not apply to be the community rabbi or pastor.
Prophetic voices always need to be considered by God’s people. True prophets remind us of God’s will, call us to spiritual renewal, and challenge us to refocus our priorities on God’s ways of justice, peace, mercy, care for the vulnerable, inclusion of the immigrant, compassion toward those living in economic poverty, and hospitality toward all persons pushed away as outsiders. Prophetic voices can bring radical change and cause disruption. The prophetic voice is needed today; however, it is not the only voice needed. We also need the pastoral voice, the wisdom voice, the visionary voice, the leadership voice, and the counselor voice, among others.
Because we are living in a shouting world it seems as if issues come at us like swarms of love bugs approaching our windshield on a warm North Carolina night drive to the coast. We need to realize that God’s Truth always presents to us a vision for how we should live and live together. For example, we should seek to be successful, but we do not build our successes by taking advantage of other people.
In my files, I keep an article published on September 9, 2018, by Susannah Heschel, daughter of Abraham Heschel. The article is entitled, ‘Two Friends, Two Prophets,’ and introduces us to the friendship and trust between Heschel and Martin Luther King, Jr. They were from very different backgrounds. King grew up in Atlanta, Heschel came to the United States in 1940 as a refugee from Hitler’s regime in Europe. They often spoke together about how racism is the root of poverty. In March, 1965, they were arm in arm walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Both of these men were prophets in recent times.
These two men met in 1963 at a Chicago conference on ‘Religion and Race’ organized by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The bond between them was instantaneous. Being a prophet can get quite lonely. These two prophets dwelt in a common spirit. When you read the words of King and Heschel, you explore prophetic words that clarify God’s vision. We apply their words to our lives and our life together because they show us where we are falling short of God’s vision for humanity.
When prophets speak, God’s people hear a description of God’s vision and a prescription for how we can remedy the ills of our lives and our life together. Jesus described himself as one who speaks the word of the Lord. In John’s Gospel (14:23-24), Jesus is quoted, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.”
When we refuse to listen to prophetic voices, we are not merely prohibiting their voice, if the prophet is proclaiming the vision of God, we are rejecting the vision of God. That said, every voice that portrays themselves to be a prophet is not a prophet. Even pastors offer a prophetic word from time to time amidst messages focused on spiritual growth, discipleship, and a variety of other subjects. When a pastor offers a message clarifying God’s vision, they are offering their prophetic voice. Let all God’s people hear.