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ACTIVITY: Youth As Prophets (excerpt)Five Ways of Being a Prophet and Challenging Social Sin
1. Prophets remind people. Prophets remind people about God's special love for the poor -- the orphans, widows, and aliens. They remind people of God's covenant (promise) and call to trust only in God, not in military alliances and fortifications or any other idols. Jesus the prophet associated with the outcasts of his time and rejected violence and wants us to do the same. This is difficult in our affluent and militarized country. The poor and other outcasts become invisible. Prophets make the invisible visible.
List some ways you individually and your school, youth group, synagogue, or church could be prophets by reminding others. Even such simple things as bumper stickers on cars or buttons on our clothes can be prophetic reminders.
2. Prophets interpret for people. Prophets discern or read "the signs of the times". That is, they help people understand what is happening around them, the deeper meaning of events. They help people see God's providential love or hand in the world. They help people see some of our problems as the natural consequences of our sinful actions as individuals and as nations. They unmask lies and idols, helping us see how we often make idols out of wealth and power -- shopping malls into temples and nuclear weapons into "gods of metal". Jesus the prophet told parables or stories so that eyes were opened, hearts were touched, and people were moved to act courageously.· List some ways you individually and your class, school, or youth group can be prophets by helping to interpret for others what God wants of us.
3. Prophets protest. We are all called, on occasion, to stand up for justice, peace, truth and life and say "no" to injustice, violence, lies and death. The three most powerful social movements in the United States in the past fifty years began as protests. People began to say "no" -- "no" to racial injustice, to the war in Vietnam, to male domination; "no" to policies, institutions, ways of seeing things and ways of doing things that dehumanize people. Too often people bless injustice by remaining silent, even in such common things as racial slurs. We must learn to say "no". There were times when Jesus the prophet protested, as with the money-changers in the temple. · List some ways you individually and your class, school, or youth group can be prophets by protesting. Boycotts, demonstrations, and forms of civil disobedience all fit in here.
4. Prophets are advocates. Prophetic protest must be matched by strong advocacy. That is, prophets work to change policies and institutions that do violence or injustice. They challenge policy-makers. Sometimes they organize people to work more effectively on their own behalf. Jesus the prophet called on the religious leaders of his time to change their practices and policies. · List some ways you individually and your class, school, or youth group can be prophets by getting involved in political advocacy. Political letter-writing and other forms of lobbying are obvious examples here.
5. Prophets offer vision and hope. Prophets do more than denounce injustice and announce the "bad news" of the consequences for human sinfulness. They also announce the "Good News" of God's promise of Shalom and fidelity to that promise. They energize people by rekindling their vision, by reminding them of God's presence and plan for the world. They help people see the significance of their struggles, of the little things they do. Prophets are people of hope, even in the midst of disaster. Jesus' entire life and message provided vision and hope. · List some ways you individually and your class, school or youth group can by prophetic by providing vision and hope.
"Me, A Prophet? No Way!"
God calls each of us to be a "prophet", just as God called Jeremiah. In the first chapter of Jeremiah, we read how Jeremiah protested against this calling, claiming that he was too young to be a prophet and did not know how to speak. He was only a teenager. Well, God did not let Jeremiah get away with that excuse. And God doesn't let us get away with it either. Read these words carefully:
"The word of Yahweh was addressed to me, saying: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.' I said, 'Ah, Lord Yahweh; look, I do not know how to speak: I am a child!' But Yahweh replied, 'Do not say, "I am a child". Go now to those to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you -- it is Yahweh who speaks!' Then Yahweh put out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me: 'There! I am putting my words into your mouth..." (Jeremiah 1:4-9)
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