Becoming Modern Prophets The scene in the first reading takes place after Moses is instructed by God to bring “seventy of the elders of Israel” to the “tent of meeting” so that God could bestow some of the spirit that he gave to Moses on those men (Numbers 11:16). Joshua is concerned about the two men, Eldad and Medad, who received some of the spirit that God gave to the seventy elders. These two men remained in the camp with the rest of the Israelites and were not present at the meeting tent with Moses and the seventy elders. Joshua does not think the two men worthy of receiving the same spirit as Moses. Thus, Moses responds to Joshua by saying, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the people of the LORD were prophets! If only the LORD would bestow his spirit on them!”
These words of Moses ring true in the present day. Did you know that when you were baptized that you received a prophetic office? That is right; when we are baptized we become prophets. What does this mean exactly? The Church explains our prophetic office as baptized Christians in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) by saying, “The holy people of God shares also in Christ’s prophetic office” (Lumen Gentium 12). All baptized Christians receive the prophetic office through Jesus Christ, but the laity of the Church, those who are not clergy or consecrated religious, are called to live out the prophetic office particularly in the secular world of everyday life. The Church in Lumen Gentium says that the laity exercise their prophetic office in the world by allowing the Gospel message to “shine forth in their daily social and family life” (Lumen Gentium 35). The document continues by explaining, “In connection with the prophetic function is that state of life which is sanctified by a special sacrament obviously of great importance, namely, married and family life” (Lumen Gentium 35).
All the laity of the Church, whether single or married, are called to go out into the world as prophets and share the Good News of the Gospel through their lives. Married couples are prophets by showing the world what it means for two people to love each other and become one flesh. Parents are prophets by teaching their children about the faith and showing their children what a faithful marriage looks like.
The faithful people of God who come to Mass on Sundays are called to become modern prophets and to go out into the world to share what they have heard in the Gospel message. Hence, one of the dismissals at the end of Mass says, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” The laity are called to go out into the world and announce the Gospel of the Lord not only with their mouths but also with their actions. As a layperson, you are called to be a prophet by being a teacher of the faith in the world. This means teaching through word and example.
Pope Saint Paul VI once said, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (Evangelii Nutiandi 41). When we exercise our prophetic office we act as teachers and witnesses of Jesus Christ. Become a modern prophet and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.