Are you a false prophet?

Matthew 7 says beware of false prophets suggesting leaders are the false prophets  but what if we are the false prophets?  By virtue of our baptism and acknowledging ourselves to be people of the Jesus way we are prophets in our own right. We proclaim, the word we teach and nurture. We correct wrongs of society.

In 2 Kings they are fixing the breaches of the temple during the reign of Josiah and the high priest says I have found the book of the law. The time of Josiah is several kings after David. From the rime of David all through the several Kings the Jews should have been paying attention to these laws. Yet the high priest says "I have found the book", suggesting that all this time the people were doing the wrong thing. It wasn't just the leaders who were false but the people too were false.

Saying one thing and doing another is common.  In the JPSCO AD where the father was stealing electricity the child asks the parent :how come?"  Her father had taught her not to steal. Why was he now stealing?

Many of us wear masks. The Jamaican proverb says "See me and come live with me is two different things."

Matthew reminds us that we must be people of integrity. We must be true to our words and our beliefs. Too often we rationalize the situation.  We justify bending the rules in our own favour and because everybody else is doing it, it becomes the norm.  Matthew says be wary of becoming that person. We sometimez call them hypocrites.

A young girl was molested by a teacher.  The teacher promised to look after the girl and baby. In the beginning he was caring but after a time he turned his back on them. When the family tried to report what was happening, in order to get support, he threatened them. He used his status to quell whatever charges could be brought against him. Help came from other areas but the girl refused out of fear of what this man could do to her family. She rescinded her original report saying it was a lie. He did not live up to his promises and the baby's mother did not finish high school and is sitting down at home with no income. 

This teacher was a false prophet. First as a teacher he shouldn't have had a relationship with a student and secondly he did not live up to his responsibilities nor his promises.

We are false prophets if we say one thing and do another

We are false prophets if we know the truth about a situation and do not speak up.

We are false prophet if we see something going wrong and turn a blind eye.

We are false prophets if we use our place in society or our wealth to advance ourselves at the expense of another person.

We are a false prophet, if we believe we are to be treated special.

We are a false prophet if we are not true to God's instructions. God's instructions are not guided by the 10 commandments but God's instruction is wider. It is to love God love neighbour, love self.  If we are able to love unconditionally there will be no falseness about it. We will treat each person with empathy, justly and with mercy.

We are false prophets if we only wade in the shallow waters of God's word, and believe the sacraments to be a show and not a movement; instead of deep diving in God's word, the glorious tradition and mystery of the sacraments that provide guidance and healing of the soul .

We have become false prophets if we are like the kings between Solomon and Josaih.  because like the kings in-between Solomon and Josiah, we have not been paying attention to the things of God.

We have become false prophets if we think there is only one way of living the Godly life, or that other ways are not good enough.

Each of us must listen up as Jesus warns his disciples about false prophets, If a prophet’s heart is evil, then he produces division, unrest, confusion, or discouragement and is therefore false. However, if the prophet produces peace, harmony, and encouragement, then he bears the spiritual fruit of God’s goodness. Paul in Galatians calls these virtues of peace, harmony and encouragement as evidence of the presence of the spirit in our lives.  Bearing this kind of fruit takes practice. And the ability to be faithful and always showing a good side does not always come easy.  Practicing integrity and harmonious relationships, practicing love is a painful exercise and many of us rather than feel the pain and become stronger abandon the instructions or we keep those that are easy and are seen as good manners. We keep those that others are keeping.

We are challenged to cultivate a heart bearing good fruit. We are challenged to discern what is right in all our actions. We are challenged to behave with integrity and in harmony with others.   Friends let us seek to not be false prophets and bearers of bad fruit, but to bear the fruit of the spirit, the fruit of love. Amen.