Using Our Prophetic Spirit
September 29, 2024
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Helen Weber-McReynolds, RCWP
Numbers 11: 25-29; Ps. 19; Eph 4: 7, 11-16; Mark 9: 14-29, 38-41
Most of you are aware of the Justice Action that some of us participated in on July 20, at the end of the US Catholic Bishops’ Eucharistic Congress, in downtown Indianapolis. We held signs and banners that day in support of all sacraments for all people. We prayed and sang and handed out leaflets in hopes of opening people’s minds to inclusion, in all roles in the Christian community, regardless of gender, sexuality, or past marital status.
Response from people in the crowd that day was mostly positive, but a few folks objected to our ideas vigorously, and, usually, condescendingly. More than one priest, in full clerical garb, literally stood talking down to me and other members of our group, shaking their fingers and telling us we were mistaken, unenlightened, sinful, condemned to hell, etc.
I wonder how Jesus would have responded if he were there. His statement in today’s Gospel, and that of Moses in the first reading, seem completely contrary to those of the finger-wagging priests. When told by his disciples that there were people outside their group performing miracles in his name, Jesus responded, “Do not stop such a one! … Whoever is not against us is for us. Whoever gives you a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ, will not lose God’s gratitude.” And when alerted that there were elders outside the designated group prophesying to God’s people, Moses said, similarly, “If only all of God’s people were prophets! If only God would bestow the spirit on them all!”
Of course, we can say Jesus was there at our protest on July 20, and that he was expressing himself thru our voices, signs, leaflets, banners, and spirits. We had all thoughtfully prepared for our action that day with sincere prayer, study, and training regarding our right to express our opinions publicly. We trusted that we were endeavoring to speak prophetically, to deliver God’s word in a way that invites to change and transformation. We believed we were equipped by the Spirit to communicate truths that would help reform and strengthen the church. That is the motivation of every part of the Womenpriests movement.
Unfortunately, in the institutional church, as in many hierarchies, there have always been tendencies for some leaders to talk down to the rank and file, usually to try to induce dependence. “Just follow our rules if you want to go to heaven,” has been typical. It sounds like it was even happening back when Ephesians was written! But this second reading encouraged us to talk back. “We are not infants,” it said. It calls us to an adult faith and critical thinking, challenging clericalism and domination by those who claim superiority. It encourages us to “…attain the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Chosen One, maturing into the fullness of humanity.” And it affirms the unique gifts and talents with which God has blessed each person.
As I see it, we are all in this together, this effort to find justice for ourselves and everyone around us. We each have some share of prophetic spirit resting on us, and God expects us to claim that voice to speak the truth we each alone know. Jesus showed us the example of speaking out in defense of those who were persecuted-- the women, the disabled, the sick, the poor, and those suffering mental illnesses. He asks us to do the same—to claim the power we have by virtue of our creation in God’s image, to refuse to be treated like infants, and to speak up for peace and equal rights like empowered adults. He asks us to “perform powerful acts of compassion,” all working to build up his Body and keep him alive forever and make his words heard in our world.
The Creator does not have any monopoly over the power to free and heal. Spirit lives in us all, and our Maker is not threatened by our collaboration with Them. Even more, God delights in our cooperation and sacred co-conspiracy. Should we muster the courage to do the difficult-yet-divine thing to reestablish liberation and righteousness, The Divine offers unyielding support for our initiative. Those who seek to hoard power and spiritual resource for themselves (clericalism, infantilization) are worthy of scrutiny. Instead, our communities of believers can be leaderful and outpouring with giftings of Spirit. We pray, we praise, we intercede, we lay hands, we speak tongues, we testify, because we know that the work of our Mother is communal. - Enfleshed
The prophetic word invites people to change and transformation……. Would that the prophetic spirit be stirred up in the lives of all people so justice can take lasting root to end all forms of oppression. - NCR
September 29, 2024
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Helen Weber-McReynolds, RCWP
Numbers 11: 25-29; Ps. 19; Eph 4: 7, 11-16; Mark 9: 14-29, 38-41
Most of you are aware of the Justice Action that some of us participated in on July 20, at the end of the US Catholic Bishops’ Eucharistic Congress, in downtown Indianapolis. We held signs and banners that day in support of all sacraments for all people. We prayed and sang and handed out leaflets in hopes of opening people’s minds to inclusion, in all roles in the Christian community, regardless of gender, sexuality, or past marital status.
Response from people in the crowd that day was mostly positive, but a few folks objected to our ideas vigorously, and, usually, condescendingly. More than one priest, in full clerical garb, literally stood talking down to me and other members of our group, shaking their fingers and telling us we were mistaken, unenlightened, sinful, condemned to hell, etc.
I wonder how Jesus would have responded if he were there. His statement in today’s Gospel, and that of Moses in the first reading, seem completely contrary to those of the finger-wagging priests. When told by his disciples that there were people outside their group performing miracles in his name, Jesus responded, “Do not stop such a one! … Whoever is not against us is for us. Whoever gives you a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ, will not lose God’s gratitude.” And when alerted that there were elders outside the designated group prophesying to God’s people, Moses said, similarly, “If only all of God’s people were prophets! If only God would bestow the spirit on them all!”
Of course, we can say Jesus was there at our protest on July 20, and that he was expressing himself thru our voices, signs, leaflets, banners, and spirits. We had all thoughtfully prepared for our action that day with sincere prayer, study, and training regarding our right to express our opinions publicly. We trusted that we were endeavoring to speak prophetically, to deliver God’s word in a way that invites to change and transformation. We believed we were equipped by the Spirit to communicate truths that would help reform and strengthen the church. That is the motivation of every part of the Womenpriests movement.
Unfortunately, in the institutional church, as in many hierarchies, there have always been tendencies for some leaders to talk down to the rank and file, usually to try to induce dependence. “Just follow our rules if you want to go to heaven,” has been typical. It sounds like it was even happening back when Ephesians was written! But this second reading encouraged us to talk back. “We are not infants,” it said. It calls us to an adult faith and critical thinking, challenging clericalism and domination by those who claim superiority. It encourages us to “…attain the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Chosen One, maturing into the fullness of humanity.” And it affirms the unique gifts and talents with which God has blessed each person.
As I see it, we are all in this together, this effort to find justice for ourselves and everyone around us. We each have some share of prophetic spirit resting on us, and God expects us to claim that voice to speak the truth we each alone know. Jesus showed us the example of speaking out in defense of those who were persecuted-- the women, the disabled, the sick, the poor, and those suffering mental illnesses. He asks us to do the same—to claim the power we have by virtue of our creation in God’s image, to refuse to be treated like infants, and to speak up for peace and equal rights like empowered adults. He asks us to “perform powerful acts of compassion,” all working to build up his Body and keep him alive forever and make his words heard in our world.
The Creator does not have any monopoly over the power to free and heal. Spirit lives in us all, and our Maker is not threatened by our collaboration with Them. Even more, God delights in our cooperation and sacred co-conspiracy. Should we muster the courage to do the difficult-yet-divine thing to reestablish liberation and righteousness, The Divine offers unyielding support for our initiative. Those who seek to hoard power and spiritual resource for themselves (clericalism, infantilization) are worthy of scrutiny. Instead, our communities of believers can be leaderful and outpouring with giftings of Spirit. We pray, we praise, we intercede, we lay hands, we speak tongues, we testify, because we know that the work of our Mother is communal. - Enfleshed
The prophetic word invites people to change and transformation……. Would that the prophetic spirit be stirred up in the lives of all people so justice can take lasting root to end all forms of oppression. - NCR
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