Amy and Are You a Prophet?
Are You a Prophet?
Moses said…Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them! (Numbers 11:29)
Do you think of yourself as a prophet?
In the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapter 11: 24-30, God puts some of the spirit that God gave to Moses upon 70 others, and then 2 more – Eldad and Medad – also received some of that spirit, though they were not gathered together in the same place.
All those who receive the gift of the spirit are prophets; they begin to prophesy.
Prophets tell the truth. Prophets point out injustice, suffering, grief, hypocrisy. They remind God’s people of God’s command to love neighbor. They hold the people of God accountable to God and to what they say they believe.
On Pentecost this Sunday, we celebrate the gift of the spirit given to the whole church, and not just the whole church; indeed, Spirit is poured out on all flesh, Peter, quoting the prophet Joel, argues in his sermon (Acts 2:17).
Are you a prophet?
It’s sometimes easier for us as people of faith to think of ourselves as pastors and to draw a bright line between pastoral care and prophetic ministry.
I invite you to think of the pastoral acts you do – the acts of caring for others, nurturing others, visiting those who are ill, feeding others – as prophetic acts.
When we as the church feed hungry people, that is a prophetic act. It announces that the kingdom of God has come near and that it is unjust and not of God that some people don’t have enough to eat.
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