In it for the long run

Who's a prophet? (Hint: it's not about profits)

I've made it a habit to visit the "Sacred Space" prayer site each day. There are some guides to reflection and the day's scripture reading. Today's has to do with Jesus warning people that many will come in his name, saying "I am he" and "the time is near."

That's been happening since people first began to communicate with one another. Competition. "I'm the real deal." It happens in advertising. In mega-churches. In cults. I'm always a bit wary of anyone who tells me the world is about to end so sell what you have and move into the wilderness, off the grid, onto my compound. Or even of those who demand complete submission to their "order" whatever it may be.

I watched it during the last election campaign: Candidates promising that their opponents were un-American and that they alone held the key to the promised land, etc. etc.; competing tv ads telling us that the country would be in danger if we voted for their opponent; people voting their fears, not their hopes.

People jump onto bandwagons elsewhere too. Diet ads promise major weight loss. Supplement companies tell you that you'll feel like a kid again if you take their magic formula. Prescription drug companies have gotten into the act, promising that you'll no longer be depressed, that your sex life will improve, that you'll lose the heartburn, protect yourself from heart attacks, and much more, if you take the advertised medicine. (Of course, prescription drug companies need to cover their backsides, so they pretty much undercut their promises with dire warnings of what could happen to you if you take their products. "Some rare but fatal side effects may occur." Wow! I've got to have that drug now!)

But ads can be tuned out. Two words: mute button.

For me, the worrisome profits... oh ... er... prophets... are those in the religious field. They want nothing less than your soul. They want your lives under their control. They want to intimidate you into submission to their version of reality. Yet what do they offer? Insular, insulated "protection." (Always reminds me of the old gangster movies... "That's a nice store you have there. Wouldn't want anything to happen to it, now would you?")

The extreme examples are Jim Jones and other cult leaders, but they are not alone. And they occur across religious boundaries. They promise that if you band with them, your soul will be "safe." But if you don't, you'll be cut adrift and in danger. They tell you to suspend any critical thinking, ask no questions, just accept what they say because they know better than you. And because the world can sometimes be a scary place, their promises can seem seductive. Follow me, listen to me, depend on me, and you'll be okay. They promise us our childhood innocence--if we only follow their way. Jesus doesn't seem to be making any such promises. In fact, it looks as if people following him could fare worse than average. Sure he says that the spirit will instruct you on what to say when faced with your adversaries. But you won't be off in someone's tent or compound. You'll be out facing these adversaries, whoever they may be. And you may feel alone.

This reading is about courage, not about using religion as a hiding place.

But who are my heroes? Who are my prophets? They're people who would be surprised to be seen that way. They're priests like John McNamee who has lived in a rundown area of North Philadelphia, ministering to people barely able to survive. In his autobiography, he shares both the deep spiritual satisfactions and the frustrations of his work. But it was always about just waking up and keeping, on, having courage to start a day faced with lack of appreciation or loneliness. It was about facing the grind and continuing to write poetry in the most "unpoetic" (whatever "poetic" means) of settings.

Or maybe they are like the everyday people in my life:

• My siblings and friends raising children in a more and more complex world and seeing them through to adulthood, continuing to be there when needed;
• My friends who direct or volunteer at races, coach kids, encourage team-mates, donate time and money in a tight economy;
• Bob, owner of Bryn Mawr Running Company and an elite runner himself--holding free events, showing the same enthusiasm to a customer buying a pair of $20 tent sale shoes as he does for those who buy $100 shoes; giving time and money to charities like ALS foundation;
• Longtime friends, Mort and Annette, who have been a mainstay to their nieces and nephews, to their students, to their neighbors, teaching me what it means to care for students.

You may notice that this list doesn't restrict itself to any one religion. Some of my prophets claim no religious persuasion. They simply "keep on keeping on," because they have a passion and energy that fires them up in good times and gives them a handhold in tough times. I think of my niece Kate with her new baby, saying that as exhausting as new motherhood can be, seeing little Leokadia smile makes it all worthwhile.

My heroes would probably wave away the title of "hero." They don't want you to inflate their status. They want simply to be friend, to be family, to be neighbor. They don't want you to be blind to their flaws, just be their friend, family, neighbor.

They want you to be you, not their possession to control. They want you to recognize the hero in you, the strong person you yourself are. So here's to all the heroes and prophets who don't see themselves as such, who just want to do right by others.

posted by DPMcManus @ 4:59 AM