The Wisdom of God

The Wisdom of God said,"I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute." When I was reflecting on the smiting words of Jesus in the gospel reading today, I was brought to ask myself the following questions: What does it mean to be a prophet or messenger of God at the time of Jesus? What does it mean when God sends someone and instructs him to broadcast a message of warning to his people?

The first image then that came to my imagination was that of bloodshed. It was the fate of the many prophets in the bible who carried out such a perilous mission to die in the hands of those they minister to. Many of them were stoned to death, beheaded, skinned or burned alive at the stake. That was the reason also why many, if not all of them, accepted their mission [as Nuncio of God] with great repulsion.

Taking a closer reading at what God said, I will send… prophets and apostles… whom they will kill… because the message that they preached bore bombshells, disasters, dangerous exposes and sometimes coupled with threats that if the people will not repent they will suffer the consequences. No wonder all these poor messengers of God were immediately exterminated as soon as they relayed the message. Those who were being admonished by the prophets were not only great denial kings and queens but it brought out the worst, and the prophet-slaughterers within them.

The matter of fact is that God's invitation is concretized in the voice of the prophets. That voice did not come like a soothing music to the ears of the people but instead it stimulated wrath and rage. It earned rejection and martyrdom because they spoke for God rather than for human affirmations, approvals, praises and name whatever you like for that matter.

So I continued in my meditation and ask myself personally, where can I find these messengers today? Have their race been all successfully eliminated in human history? If yes, has someone or something taken on such dangerous job to warn and summon every individual like myself to go back to God? What are now the contemporary mediums or interventions of God’s invitation to me as a Jesuit, as someone who claims to be a faithful follower and companion of Jesus? How does he communicate to me in my day to day grind? Does God’s bidding come across in my relationships with friends, foes, with my superiors? My joys and proclivities, my struggles, longings and pains? Am I like the people in the olden times who only would like to hear affirmations and approvals and close their ears to the rejections and denunciations? Am I also a killer of the messengers that God, in his great generosity, has sent to come to my aid? How have I then heedfully or perhaps grudgingly responded and listened to the biddings within and without?

Lord thank You for disturbing us always in our complacencies. We know that You always want us to be fixed firmly in Your presence, but Your wisdom, Your mysterious way of fulfilling this is still the best among our many human endeavors.