By Alexia Salvatierra
When I was speaking at an Intervarsity event this week, one of the student leaders expressed some doubt that prophets after the coming of Christ are called to include a social justice element in their message. That is not an uncommon stance in many of our churches.
The role and calling of prophets in the Old Testament is clear and consistent – prophets speak God’s Word for his people for a particular place and time. That Word always includes warning and promises – warnings about idolatry, injustice and adultery, promises of God’s intervention in history on behalf of his people. The Word spoken by prophets in the Old Testament is always designed to lead to communal repentance as well as individual and social transformation.
What about the New Testament? It’s clear that the prophetic vocation continues. Jesus refers to himself as a prophet on several occasions (Luke 13:33, Mt. 5:17 etc.) and there is no place where he re-defines the role. Jesus also makes it clear in Luke 4:16-20 that his mission continues to include justice for the oppressed and the transformation of the whole world. (The expression for the “Year of the Lord” used in v.20 is a clear reference to Jubilee, the social prescriptions designed to ensure social and economic justice.) Prophets are listed in Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12 as the second most important calling in the church (after Apostle) and again, there is no specific redefinition of the role.
Confusion Around The Prophet
The confusion around the role of prophet in the new covenant comes from the references to prophets in Acts and Corinthians. While vague and brief, the role of prophets in the New Testament seems to focus on Words to specific believers and/or congregations rather than to the people of God as a whole. The only specific Word has to do with Paul’s fate – and it is unclear exactly what Paul is called to do with the information. Judas and Silas are referred to as prophets whose messages encourage and strengthen the people but it is not clear what those messages are. In 1 Corinthians 14, we read that there were multiple messages in congregations from different prophets at the same time. Clearly, there is a redefinition of some sort going on in the daily life of the church; the question is whether that is a universal mandate for the church or a historical passage in the life of the church.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things” John 14:12
When I first read that passage as a young believer, I didn’t know what to make of it. How could we do greater things than our Lord? It didn’t make sense to me until I began to understand the Body of Christ. Jesus continues to work in our world through his Body – and there are opportunities for his Body to do greater things in the world now than there were when we were a persecuted handful hiding in caves under an oppressive Roman dictatorship. The slaves could never have been freed during Paul’s life – but he says in 1 Corinthians 7 that if there is an opportunity for freedom, the slaves should take it. In the 19th century, God’s servants and agents had the opportunity to end slavery in the United States.
The prophet always focuses a universal Word on a current situation – whether it is individual, communal, societal or worldwide. We have no biblical mandate to limit the scope of God’s messages.
A Prophetic Word For Today?
The importance of recognizing our gifts and calling is that it both guides and encourages us. I have reluctantly had to accept in recent years that I stand in the prophecy sector of the Body, which gives me a certain responsibility when I see a vision or hear a Word. So, in that light and spirit, I need to give you a brief message as a parting word.
There are thousands of Central American children coming across our border, fleeing the Maratrucha, a terrible gang/international mafia which conscripts adolescent boys into gang membership on the threat of torturing and killing their families – and kidnaps younger children for trafficking. We have a historical role that feeds into the development of this gang (both from our Central America policies in the ‘80s and our immigration policies in the ‘90s.) We also have real expertise as a nation in reducing the power of mafias and gangs. Our gang problem in Los Angeles is much better than it was – through an expert application of carrot and stick, economics and enforcement. A World War II style “Marshall Plan” for Central America would go a long way towards solving the larger problem in connection with international policing. The work that we have been doing with the Mexican government is having a positive impact on their drug mafia problem. Many of us are too overwhelmed by the size of the problem to seriously consider any alternatives for solutions.
However, hear the Word of the Lord – “whatever you do not do for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do not do for me”. (Matthew 25:45). How can we send these children back into the arms of the gangs and look our Lord in the eyes? Congress members are threatening to roll back human trafficking legislation that requires individual hearings for children from Central American to determine political asylum eligibility and refusing to allocate government funding for their interim care. These Congress members represent us; if they send these children back or refuse to shelter them, who is responsible for their fate? This is a question that transcends political party divisions; it is not a question that the church cannot afford to ignore and be faithful. A prophet of the Lord in this moment who would only speak the Word to individuals and ignore our common gift and responsibility may be holding back part of God’s message – a perilous possibility.
If they send these children back or refuse to shelter them, who is responsible for their fate? Please leave a comment here
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