Pain of the prophets Is 6:1-2a, 3-8; Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11 Isaiah’s response to God’s question in his vision always impresses me. The question, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” is not directed to Isaiah (Is 6:8). He does not need to answer it. Of course, there is no reason to think that Isaiah cannot answer the question either, but he does not have to. Like students in a classroom, he could awkwardly avoid making eye contact with the teacher — in this case, God — in the hope that he will not get called on to answer. Instead, he chooses to respond. Not only does he respond, but he volunteers himself to be the prophet. Whenever I read this, I think to myself, “Why would he volunteer for this job?” I think sometimes we view the role of prophet with a bit too much romanticism. We think that this is someone whose job it is speak for God — to share God’s message to whomever needs to hear it. That does not sound so bad. It almost sounds nice — you would get to talk to God. Yet most prophets who receive this call try to find a way out of it. Isaiah’s response appears to be a rare one. We could also think of young Samuel, who also answers his call in a similar way. But he is a young boy who likely has no understanding of what he is truly being called to do. In short, one who is called to be a prophet is one who is called to spend their life as one of the most maligned people of their society. Contrary to popular belief, biblical prophets did not begin as someone living on the margins or as the outcasts of their society. They were often a person who had some sort of status or significant role within their society. The prophet Jeremiah sums up what it feels like to be a prophet (Jer 20:7-18). He speaks not only of the pain he experiences watching others suffer, but of his own pain at being vilified by his community. This pain affects him so much that he prays for God to seek revenge upon them. Perhaps most famously, Jeremiah curses the day he was born and wishes that he had died in his mother’s womb. This is not the language of someone who is a little stressed or frustrated. This is the language of someone who is at the end of their rope. He really feels that God is his only friend. That is a very lonely existence. I cannot imagine what it would be like to feel truly alone and isolated as Jeremiah describes. So, I can understand why other prophets try to avoid their call, and why some Gospel characters do not jump at the chance to follow Jesus without question. The type of rejection and pain the prophets experienced in order to follow God is likely difficult for most Christians in the United States to relate to. Christians in the United States are able to worship quite freely. For example, Christmas is a federal holiday, Christian religious practices are seen as “normal,” and Christians overall have more social and political power than any other religious group in the United States. This is not the case for every religious group. Some may not feel safe to go to worship or to openly identify with their religion for fear of rejection or violence. We may not share those experiences, but we can help to change them. We can provide support for these marginalized communities and work to change the structures that keep them from living freely, as is their right. We can work together to ensure that no one feels the pain of our prophets simply because they are following their own call from God.
About the Author Kate Oxsen is an assistant professor of Old Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union.