Prophets After Jesus’ Heart

Homily: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Mark 1:21-28

31 January 2021

Fr. Ricky C. Montanez 

A friend of mine has been feeling burned out from her job in Makati.  She recently said she was considering quitting to focus on creating content on her own YouTube channel featuring her hilarious life experiences even if the videos would invade her privacy and make her look silly and unflattering.  She joked that she would put her pride up for sale if she could earn enough to retire young. Surprisingly, lots of kids today hardly dream of being engineers or architects or accountants but they aspire to be bloggers and influencers on social media! In 2020, the highest paid influencer on Instagram earned $142,000 per post! On the same list is a guy with 24M followers who earns $82,000 per post!  On YouTube, the highest earner of 2020 is a 9-year-old boy. By opening toys, playing with them and giving his opinion about them he earned almost $30M despite the pandemic. 

Many young people look up to people who are known as influencers. They have gained immense popularity through their vibrant presence in various social media platforms. But who exactly are these people? They are those persons who through blog posts, videos, photos, tweets and so on are able to generate interest in something. By posting something on a wide range of topics to which some of them are truly an authority, some who simply claim to have knowledge, while others are simply touted to be experts by virtue of their followers, they are able to exert influence on people’s decisions and courses of actions. They are so powerful that they can even shape and sway public opinions on a given political issue or party depending on which side they choose to take or which political agenda they want to endorse. Some of them are certainly helpful in disseminating information, acting as witnesses to the effectivity of products or raising awareness on important issues. Others simply do and say things to generate a hype that translates to an increase in their following or more cash for their pockets. 

The prophets in the Old Testament were hardly influencers.  They were very unpopular figures who lived in such dangerous times of political unrest. They often spoke of doom and gloom and were tasked by God to warn His people and their leaders of God’s wrath should they persist in breaking their covenant with God. In the First Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses enjoins the people to heed the words of God’s prophets. He also calls the people’s attention to consider their own calling to be responsible prophets themselves. He warns them of the dire consequences of deviating from the life-giving message of God. He urges them to be humbly reliant on God for direction and courage. A prophet does not speak His own words but He is simply a mouthpiece for God, conveying a message of truth, no matter how unpleasant or unpopular. 

Jesus was very much a great influencer in His time.  He caught the attention of many because of the wonder of His miracles and as He grew popular, people sought Him out and listened when He spoke.  In today’s gospel passage from Mark, the people experience Jesus as an authority figure in terms of His teaching and healing ministry. We are told… “People were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” (Mark 1:22) Again, the people were amazed at Jesus’ power when He casts out the “unclean spirit in the man” (Mark 1:23). People were astounded yet confused as to the source of Jesus’ authority which was evident not only in the power of His word but also in the act of freeing the man from the unclean spirit that tormented him. The words of Jesus yielded so much power that not only did it move people’s hearts to take notice of Him and to follow His lead but it caused the demons to recognise Him and to obey His commands. They know who Jesus is… “the Holy One of God”! (Mark 1:24) They attest to the divine identity of Jesus and His power over them.  

Many of us are readily swayed by the eloquence and charm of powerful speakers or charismatic personalities whom we wish to emulate. This is what makes the so-called influencers so fascinating to many people these days. Never mind if what these people are saying may be what is farthest from the truth. There are some of us who allow ourselves to be duped and manipulated by their powerful words. This brings us to the question of how to be discerning. Who indeed are the true prophets of our day? We take the cue from Jesus Himself. First of all, Jesus was credible to His listeners because His actions were always consistent with His words. Jesus was never pretentious nor did He do things for popularity. Recall Jesus’ scathing rebuke of the Pharisees: “So, practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.” (Matthew 23:3) It is thus no surprise why the Gospel accounts relay how Jesus’ adversaries desperately tried to find some reason to entrap Him since it was not easy to destroy a man who lived with such integrity. It saddens me that there are still many in society today who continue to believe in people who say one thing and choose to do something otherwise. Secondly, one’s credibility increases when it is motivated by goodness.  Jesus’ genuine care and compassion are very much evident in the way He carried out His healing ministry. Jesus’ words of preaching touched their lives and healed their emotional wounds and satiated their hunger. It is quite commendable when some of these influencers use their voice to bring to people’s attention the plight of some of our brothers and sisters that needs to be addressed. From time to time you would see netizens posting photos of people in need to either generate help or to inspire people to help those similarly situated around them. A recent one that went viral featured a Lola (grandmother) who was selling her crocheted items like coin purses, wallets, water bottle holders, etc. under the train station in Manila to make a living. The post went viral because many were moved by her perseverance and hard work and at the same time they felt sorry that working at her age she was placing herself at risk of contracting the virus.  Because of that post, people in the area took notice of her and helped her by buying her crocheted items. Lastly, the indication of a true prophet is shown when the good of others rather than one’s personal interest is the primary concern. To promote the welfare of others should be priority over the need for popularity. Sadly, some of these people looked up to by others to guide them in their decision making would rather tend to compromise the truth to keep their social media status and approval intact. In Jesus, we are challenged to relearn how to recognise authority. The only sure way to recognise authority is to follow those who serve. In Jesus, may we exercise authority through the loving service of others. 

As we continue to discern who we allow to have influence over us, let us also strive to become true prophets in our time. Let us pray that we may have the courage to always speak what is true and the mindfulness to live what we speak. May we manifest the same integrity as Jesus had shown throughout His life on earth. As the psalmist encourages us, let us then keep our hearts open to God’s word at all times so as to become prophets after Jesus’ own heart.

Art Work by Arcabas (Jean-Marie Pirot)