The prophetic voice: rare, awkward, needed! (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 and Luke 12:49-53; 17 August 2025)

A reflection on Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 and Luke 12:49-53, written and spoken by Kieran J. O'Mahony OSA. 

Gentle piano music to close the meditation

Transcript

John’s Lane
17 August 2025
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Luke 12:49-53
What the use of prophets?

Welcome
When the new pope, Leo XIV, first stood on the balcony of St Peter’s, his first words were “Peace be with you.” In his first couple of weeks as pontiff, he has spoken tirelessly of peace — a message badly needed in our world. It is, therefore, a shock to hear Jesus say in today’s Gospel: “Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No.”

Topic
What sense, if any, can we make of today’s Gospel?

Steps
1. Firstly, it needs to be said the prophets are rare, awkward and necessary. Genuine prophets — not those who foretell but those who tell forth — are of necessity rare. Usually, such figures are also awkward, challenging conventional views and values in ways which leave us disconcerted and uncomfortable. Prophets are also necessary: people who penetrate the fog of the conventional because we are often in danger of sleepwalking through life.

2. Jesus himself was accepted in his day as a genuine prophet. He had a rare courage to confront and challenge, breaking age-old conventions. Today’s Gospel is a good example. The Messiah was supposed to bring universal peace. In no uncertain, surely paradoxical terms, Jesus  makes it plain that if his mission were ever taken totally seriously it would rock the lives of all who heard it. Partly, this reflects the urgency of Jesus himself — fire on the earth. Partly, it reflects the experience of the early communities — families
ies were split, members were divided. This is meant to be a wake up call, a shake up call so that the Gospel — not only urgent but radically alternative — can be heard afresh. Elsewhere in the Gospel Jesus tells us we have to hate our parents. Of course, he is not commanding us to hate our parents but nevertheless he is making it clear that the Gospel demands choices which counter ordinary human experience and wisdom. Such is the proper task of prophets, as we saw in the story of Jeremiah. It is also the proper task of Jesus, then and now. Prophets are meant to leave us disconcerted and they do.

3. Are there prophets today? Yes, both secular and religious. Poets and song writers are often the prophets of our day. The predecessor of Pope Leo, Pope Francis of beloved memory, was in his own way a prophet. He rattled the cage of the institutional church — a necessary rattling — by putting mercy front and first. An example is his allowing the blessing of so-called “irregular unions.” His stance on synodality was surely prophetic, heralding an entirely new way of being church, a listening church, a humble church, a church of participation, communion and mission. It is wonderful that the new bishop of Rome has committed himself to the prophetic initiatives of Pope Francis. Amen!

Conclusion
Lots of things work against prophets: the dead weight of traditionalism, the comfort of the conventional and familiar, our own sheer resistance and inertia. The teaching of the Scriptures is otherwise:

Isaiah 43:19 Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognise it?

The very last book of the New Testament has the same message in Revelation chapter 21, where we hear the words:

Revelation 21:5    And the one seated on the throne said:
“Look! I am making all things new!”

Let us pray that it may be so. Amen.