When the Word was made Flesh, He came into this world to as our priest, prophet, and king. Bishop Barron frames it like this,
As priest, he sanctifies, that is to say, he reestablishes the lost link between divinity and humanity; as prophet, he speaks and embodies the divine truth; and as king, he leads us on the right path, giving guidance to the human project. You might say that, as priest, he is the life; as prophet, he is the truth; and as king he is the way.
Through baptism we become members of the Body of Christ and thus are also called to share in those self-same roles. While all 3 can be tremendously challenging, especially in the secularization of modern society, one that really seems to stump people is the idea of being a prophet.
For some it comes naturally (*cough* Jack Z and Jack T *cough*), but for us plebeians the idea is really daunting. It can be absolutely terrifying to witness to our friends, coworkers, strangers, and even our own families, especially when we constantly have demons whispering fears in our ears saying:
What are you even going to say?
Who would even listen to you?
People will label you
No one will like you anymore
You aren't brave enough
You aren't strong enough
You just aren't enough in general
You're only going to make enemies
You're too timid
You're too shy
etc.
All of these are lies. Be not afraid!
The phrase "shout it from the rooftops" is actually an idiom adapted from the Gospel of Luke.
"Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops." (Luke 12:3)
In that same chapter, Luke goes on to express "Sayings about the Holy Spirit"
"When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." (Luke 10:11-12)
You see, when you witness to others about Christ, it is not you personally witnessing, rather it is the Holy Spirit working through you. He will guide you. He will tell you exactly what to say, and it is simply your job to listen. Whenever you're confronted with a situation that you believe you're being called to witness in, silence your thoughts and say a prayer to the Holy Spirit welcoming Him into your heart and asking Him to fill you with the words and graces to make an impact.
Every day I wake up and I ask God where He needs me that day, and almost everyday, without fail, He has asked me to testify and witness to my faith. However, the ways in which He calls me to testify are in no way bold and for the most part go unnoticed by the rest of the world, and that's okay. Some are called to be great prophets standing on milk crates surrounded by a crowd with a million views, but remember what inspires some people, might not fit the bill for others. In fact, sometimes aggressive gestures of faith have an adverse reaction on people and instead makes them turn away rather than towards. Don't be ashamed if your way of witnessing is by quietly have a nice conversation with a coworker, or posting a small quote from the bible on your social media page. While they may not seem grand, God has a plan, and your simple act of faith might be the thing that plants the seed. What falls through the nets of the fisherman can be caught by those with one hook in the water.
As Father Mike reminded us all last night at the Open Mike, "Satan wins when good men do nothing". So let's do something, because we are children of God, and if God is with us, who could possibly be against us?
Photo Credits:
https://www.ulizalinks.co.ke/when-i-started-preaching-to-the-youth-teens-in-a-gospel-event-they-walked-out-preacher-says/ https://beingisgood.blogspot.com/2014/08/homily-19th-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html?m=1
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