Receiving the Prophets

Reflections on prophets, receiving them, and receiving the Lord based on today's readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062826.cfm

Our readings today begin with the exchange between Elisha and the woman of Shunem. We see that the woman welcomes the prophet of the Lord as though he were the Lord’s own representative, and in return Elisha gives her exactly what she desires.

But is it really Elisha who gives this gift to her? Yes and no. It is God working through him. God is the one who deserves the thanks, because without Him Elisha would not be able to give her anything. Yet it really is through Elisha that she receives her long-desired child.

This same dynamic often occurs in our own lives. God sends people to us who can do something similar—they can become conduits of grace in our lives, supplying us with gifts beyond anything we could imagine. But do we receive them as this woman did?

Often, we do not. Part of the reason is that we seriously misunderstand what a prophet is.

A prophet is more than a wise man. He is an instrument of God, one whose life has become transparent to the divine. The prophet points to the presence of God and can become a means through which God acts in the lives of others.

A prophet is not merely a sage or a fortune-teller. He is a man transformed by grace. This is what St. Paul means when he speaks of the newness of life.

Whenever we hear of this newness of life, or hear that we are called to fulfill a prophetic mission, we may begin to desire it ourselves. This leads to a natural question: How do we attain this newness of life?

The desire that leads us to ask this question is already the beginning of the path toward receiving it. As St. Thomas Aquinas said when asked how one might attain holiness: “Will it.”

We must desire God above all things, and then direct our lives in such a way that everything we choose is ordered toward Him. In theory, it is quite simple. In practice, it is nearly impossible—or rather, impossible without the grace of God.

One of these practical difficulties is laid out for us in today’s Gospel. Part of desiring God above all things means desiring Him above even those things we hold most sacred, such as family. Hence Christ’s striking teaching today.

And, even more practically, we may wonder: How do we demonstrate this desire? What does someone who desires God above all things do that reveals this desire?

Once again, Christ’s answer is quite simple. The one who desires the Lord above all things will receive His prophets because they have been sent by God. This helps us understand how and why the woman of Shunem was disposed to receive the grace that came to her through Elisha.

This should lead us to examine how we respond to the prophets in our own lives. When the Lord sends someone to draw us closer to Him, we should embrace that gift and be receptive to it. By doing so, we ourselves can receive God’s gifts and become instruments of His grace for others.

However, too many people try to be the gift before first receiving it, and thus never truly receive it at all. Too many want to be prophets rather than receive prophets. If not consciously, then subconsciously, and this is often revealed in a subtle attitude of superiority toward others.

But even greater than the woman of Shunem, we can look to the Woman par excellence, the Blessed Mother, who is full of grace precisely because she receives everything from the Lord and identifies herself as nothing more than His handmaid.

May we all be encouraged by the countless examples we find in Scripture to deepen our desire for the Lord and then put that desire into action by receiving those whom He sends to us as His servants and messengers.