Dismissing the Prophets of God

Homily, Ordinary Time Sunday 14B

Since becoming a priest, I’ve been the recipient of many strange comments and questions. It seems a bit ironic to me that when I still wore something different every day, no one was very much interested in what I was wearing, but now that I wear pretty much the same thing every day, lots of people take an interest all of a sudden, especially when I’m in the grocery store or on the street. But the most annoying comment that I still hear on a regular basis is when people say things like, “Wow, you look way too young to be a priest.” Now, I try to give the benefit of the doubt. Maybe a lot of people are just used to seeing a lot of old, burnt-out priests, that they’re surprised to see such a young, burnt-out priest. Keep in mind that the minimum age requirement is 25 years, and Jesus Himself was probably around just 30 years old when He began His public ministry, and around 33 when He died on the Cross and rose from the dead for our salvation. I wonder if anyone said to Jesus, “Wow, You look way too young to be the Son of God” (Cf. John 8:57).

I actually don’t mind the comments too much, and I’m glad to be aging well so far, but I do wonder if it isn’t just another way for some of us to dismiss and fail to respond and take seriously a perspective that might differ from our own. “Such a young priest doesn’t have much experience yet. Give him a few more years in the real world, and he won’t be so idealistic or extreme anymore.”

We can do the same thing with the different labels that we use: conservative or liberal, progressive or traditional. Instead of really seeking the truth together, how often do we find ourselves thinking, “Well, he’s only saying that because he’s so liberal” or “because she’s so conservative” or “because he’s still so young and inexperienced”? Here’s the real question for us to ask: Is it true? If what this person is saying is true, not conservative or liberal, but if it’s true, what does that mean for me and for my relationships? How is God challenging me through this, to reevaluate my own values and to change my behaviors? Is it true?

When Jesus returns to His hometown, those who watched Him grow up thought that they already had Him figured out. “Where did this man get all this? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” And Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. How often do we dismiss and ignore the prophets of God because we already have them figured out? Because we know he’s liberal, he’s conservative, he’s still just a baby priest? This kind of thinking is toxic for our spiritual lives, and for the life of the Church, and for our country. This kind of thinking runs the risk of dismissing anything that might ask us to change, to repent, to reform our lives, our ways of thinking, our behaviors.

God’s ways are not our ways, but the whole goal of the spiritual life is that our ways should grow closer to the ways of God. This doesn’t happen if we think we already have it all figured out, that we have nothing to learn from those conservatives, from those liberal, from those old, or younger clergy. Is it true, or is it not? If what this person is saying is true, how is God calling me to change, to be converted, to draw closer to God’s own ways?