Being true prophets: Remembering John Maria Vianney
Jer 28:1-17; Mt 14: 13-21
The readings today remind us of our call to be a prophet... by the way, do we really know that each of us baptised in the Spirit is called to be a priest, a prophet and a prince (or princess)? Of course, knowing is one thing, but being convinced of it is totally another thing.
Being a prophet is not speaking things that others would love to hear from us -like the so called fortune tellers and prediction prodigies do to woo more and more customers. Jeremiah warns Hananiah today in the first reading against his false sense of prophecy! And we read the sad end of Hananiah. The Gospel has a symbolic message in the same lines.
Jesus chides his disciples for their lack of faith. It might look a bit too demanding on Jesus' part to expect the disciples to remain unperturbed when they are almost sinking. But the point that the Master makes is that his disciples should be perturbed by nothing, absolutely nothing! "Let nothing disturb you", he would say. In today's world so immersed in numerous kinds of concerns, wouldn't it be prophetic to live a life so unperturbed! John Maria Vianney is indeed a shining example in this.