THE PROPHET MEDIATES THE KINGDOM OF GOD


WEDNESDAY, FOURTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP 

Hos 10:1-3,7-8,12; Ps 105:2-7; Mt 10:1-7

The prophet and the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven

The role of the prophet is not to proclaim calamity and destruction. The call of a prophet is a blessing for the people, for the prophet establishes a link between God and his people. This link is a channel of blessings to the people. The prophet mediates the will of God by proclaiming his word to the people. His ministration of the word of God is a channel for bringing God’s presence and communion among the people. It could also be a moment of calamity and destruction, depending on how the people receive the word of God. If the word of God is well received by the people, it re-establishes the covenant communion with God which ultimately is abundant blessings on the people, causing them to flourish in all they do. But a refusal to repent and respond to the invitation of God opens a contrary channel of evil, curses, and destruction on the people. Thus, the destruction that comes in the wake of the call of a prophet is invariably traced to the free will of the people to choose God or reject him.

The alternation of blessings and curses or destruction of Israel is due to the instability of human will. The blessings that come with the people’s acceptance of God gradually wane as the peoples’ allegiance to God and his word shifts to material riches and wealth. “Israel was a luxuriant vine yielding plenty of fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more alters he built; the richer his land became, the richer he made the sacred stones.” The prophet is therefore called to detach himself from material things and possessions. By this detachment, he is able to achieve a single and total attachment to the word of God. With an undivided heart, he embraces and proclaims the word of God. This makes him a pattern for the people of God to follow. He calls the people to detach themselves from earthly riches to the eternal and heavenly riches only God can offer. Thus, a time for proclaiming the word of God is a time of salvation. It is a time of God’s self-communication to the people. It is a time to seek the way of righteousness; it is a time to seek and understand the truth; it is a time to enter into the blessed life of God. “Sow integrity for yourselves, reap a harvest of kindness, break up your fallow ground: it is time to go seeking the Lord until he comes to rain salvation on you.” When God sends his word, it brings about the rain of salvation and integrity.

The call of the prophet mediates the call of the people, for the purpose of calling the prophet is that the people may become a prophetic people, consecrated to doing the will of God. This is not different in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word. His coming in human nature opens the day of salvation for all humanity. The salvation that he brings is mediated by those who are nearest to him to those who are far away. God called Abraham and his descendants to be a prophetic nation to all nations. As the call of the prophet does not exclude the people but for them, Israel was not called and chosen in exclusion of other nations but for all nations. Our Lord underscores this divine will in the gospel when he sent his disciples out to preach. “Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” He did not exclude the pagans from the kingdom of heaven but followed the established order of vocation. The same applies to each of us who have come to faith; we are not called or chosen in exclusion of others. We are to mediate their coming into the kingdom of heaven by playing our prophetic role with total dedication. It is about living the word of God daily.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, the grace to follow your beloved Son in his self-abasement and total dedication to your will, so that we may effectively proclaim your heavenly message to all around and contribute to the coming of the heavenly kingdom. 

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