I recently read Victoria Sweet’s latest book Slow Medicine. I loved her first book God’s Hotel and I like this one equally well. I often will write down lines from a book I am reading in my daily journal. I wrote this one down from Slow Medicine:
Have we no room for prophets?
Dr. Sweet asks this question because she is quite aware that in medicine we expect facts, scientific answers. We have certain expectations about human behavior and thus, we have certain expectations with medicine. Sometimes our expectations shut us off from needed insights, wisdom, new ways to approach a problem. In other words, if John the Baptizer were to walk into an Emergency Room today, his reception would probably be to immediately send him to the psych ward. We don’t have room for prophets.
We don’t even like borderline prophets like Dr. Anthony Fauci who tried (and is still trying) to make us aware that this pandemic has a death grip on our nation, our world. Dr. Fauci has received hate mail and death threats. Why? Because he has been a voice crying out in the wilderness of ignorance and suspicion.
Another large group of prophets have been those like Bill McKibben and Greta Thunberg who keep issuing warnings about what we are doing to the earth and how we continue to let corporate money smother climate justice efforts. Their voices in the wilderness keep crying out against ignorance and greed.
Our democracy is being seriously threatened and yes, there are multiple voices crying out, almost begging us to open our eyes to what is happening right in front of our eyes. Will we hear and act before it is too late? Or will we let the prophets and our hopes for justice be slaughtered?
Have we no room for prophets?
In the Christian liturgical year we are in the season of Advent. The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming.” Advent is considered a season of preparation for what is coming. The religious focus is on the coming of Christ, the birth of Jesus, or simply said, we are waiting for Christmas. We sing, O come O come Emmanuel as we wait. We pray. We listen. We hope.
Advent is also the season of prophets. Scripture readings during this season feature the voices of John the Baptist, Jeremiah and Isaiah, Baruch and Malachi, Zephaniah and Micah—the prophets cry out their warnings. Not because they want to be “right” but because they want people to change. To repent. Remember, the word repent simply means to change direction, to go about life in a new way. The people in the biblical era didn’t like or listen to prophets any more than we do today.
Have we no room for prophets?
Even though our modern day prophets would never use the word “repent” as they are wise enough to know that we vipers do not react well to religious jargon, yet this is why prophets, then and now, cry out. They see the disaster that lies ahead of us if we do not change. They cry out because they want to save us from our own destruction.
800,000 people in the United States alone have died during this pandemic. We have not listened to those who cried out and still cry out to get vaccinated, wear a mask, wash our hands.
Time is fast running out for our planet, this fragile earth, our island home. Are we listening? Are we willing to change how we live and drive and heat our homes and eat?
Our democracy teeters as we foster lies and conspiracy theories and pretend it is business as usual. Will our voices join with those crying out or will we once more ignore the prophets and turn away?
The voices of prophets have been recorded throughout history. Perhaps it is a way of saying, “Wow. We sure missed the boat on that one, didn’t we?” Or perhaps it is because we still have hope. We still have hope that we can change, that we can learn to listen, that we can make a difference in our own small ways. Perhaps we have not given up completely yet.
Perhaps we can still make room for prophets.
A wonderful blog and so true of what is happening in our world today. We don’t want to listen to our prophets today anymore than the people in the biblical period wanted to listen. We are in denial of climate change, the pandemic and vaccinations, etc. and the prophets that are trying to tell us are ridiculed and mocked. I have lived long enough to have witnessed the climates changing.
I don’t believe we should give up hope that we can change our course b4 it is too late. Miracles do happen but this is what it may take. As you say we pray and we hope.😢
This is excellent, Jeanne! Thank you!