The Word Of Peace
Homiletic Reflections On Peacemaking
Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.
15th Sunday in
Ordinary Time, Cycle B
July 2000
The Prophet’s Way
We shall beyond doubt be placed behind bars for some
potion of our natural lives in consequence of our ability to live and die content in the
plagued city, to say "peace, peace" when there is no peace, to keep the poor
poor, the thirsty and hungry thirsty and hungry. Our apologies good friends for the
fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children, the angering of the
orderlies in the front parlor of the charnel house. We could not, so help us God, do
otherwise.
These are the words of the prophet’s way-- or
least a reflection of that way. The Jesuit priest and poet Daniel Berrigan spoke them in
the 1960’s as a way for others to understand why he and eight others burned the draft
records of the Selective Service in Catonsville, MD. Many would, and do see, D. Berrigan
as something of a modern day prophet cut out of the mold of the Hebrew prophets who
brought the news of God’s call to conversion of heart. These prophets come to people
to tell the truth. These truths come from seeing and feeling as God sees and feels because
it is God who has sent these prophets.
Prophets and God have a very intimate relationship. To the
prophet the call of God is overwhelming, and often resisted. Many prophets had no clue
that they would be prophets—they were called out of the blue as it were. Isn’t
that what Amos is getting at. He is being told to leave Israel, go back to his home area
of Judah to make a fuss. Amos’ response might be paraphrased in modern terms this
way; "Look, I was minding my own business when suddenly I received this call from the
Lord to go to Israel and call Israel to conversion of heart. I mean I was pruning my trees
and thinking of how blue the sky was and then "wham" I’m called to be a
prophet." I resisted at first to be sure, I mean I knew some folks were going to be
upset with the message I brought. But the Lord spoke and I listened and here I am."
Jesus appoints his followers to be prophets to drive out
unclean spirits. What’s more they are to be totally dependent on God for what they
need and to not have a fall back plan in case of trouble. That really is the prophetic
way. To respond to God’s call to go out and to bring the cleaning and healing Word to
the people, to the society in which one lives. But what are these unclean spirits? Well,
in our time they are the spirits of greed, lust for power and control, fear, the
devaluation of human life and the devaluation of the planet earth, economic gain over the
importance of human dignity and selfishness over stewardship. The followers of Jesus come
with a message to change our hearts, to be disturbers of the false peace of s society of
violence to be the heralds and builders with God of the civilization of love. That is the
Christian mission in the world of proclaiming the God Gospel. As D. Berrigan said we are
here to upset the orderliness of things. So often order serves the purpose of cementing
the structures of injustice deep into the foundation of our culture so that we no longer
see this injustice. And this is where the prophets come in. Prophets are sent to reveal
injustice and to point the way to peace.
In our own time prophets like D. Berrigan have pointed out
that we cannot have justice and peace if we rest our world on the threat of nuclear war,
or biological and chemical war or any kind of war. War really doesn’t create justice,
it often can only averts greater disasters. Prophets tell us that there has to be a better
way. This evening on TNT a mini-series on Nuremberg will remind us that prophets try to
tell the truth in times of falsehood, but so often people are swayed by falsehood and
reject the prophet—only to reap a whirlwind of unimagined catastrophe.
Prophets tell us that things can be better if we change.
Prophets tell us its not too late we can drive out the unclean spirit. As the followers of
Jesus we have been given charge to do so. We have been given the power in the Holy Spirit
to do so.
One of the great ways this is happening in the Church today
is the emergence of Small Christian Communities. These communities reflect on the Word of
God and commit themselves to bring the truth of this word into daily living. They have
been gathered by the Holy Spirit and are called and sent out to the world to grapple with
and to overcome the unclean spirits. Yet there is a temptation in such groups to remain
insular and to not be prophets to the world. Fr. Bernard Lee, a major proponent of SCCs
wrote in his book, Conversation, Risk and Conversion: The Inner and Public Life of
Small Christian Communities:
…SCCs in this country will be a blip on the screen
of church history rather than an engaging, strong narrative, if communities do not have
proactive conversation with the world beyond their community membership as well as
effective mutual conversation with each other.
Such words could be used for the whole Church as
well. We are told that all things will be judged with the standard of Jesus Christ. We are
told that all things we made to be glorified in Christ. Our world is not yet there and it
is the call and mission of the followers of Jesus to push this world along. It is the call
and mission of the followers of Jesus to help cleanse the world of unclean spirits in the
power of the Spirit of the non-violent and justice-bound Christ. Then our chief concern
will not be order, but justice—the prophet’s way.
Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.
Created July 15, 2000
|