The Prophets Among Us

Dear friend, I am sure you recall the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. It was a tremendous tragedy that resulted in the loss of over 1,500 lives. Nevertheless, a few hours prior, telegraph operators from other ships had cautioned the Titanic of the presence of massive icebergs in the North Atlantic that could pose a serious threat to the ship. Unfortunately, these warnings were disregarded.

Hydraulic engineer Giorgio Dal Piaz and geologist Edoardo Semenza forewarned authorities of the ongoing instability of Monte Toc, situated above the Vajont dam in northeast Italy. However, their warnings, too, went unheeded. On 9 October 1963, a huge landslide detached from Mount Toc, plummeting into the dam basin and triggering a flood wave that swept over the dam, devastating the villages below and resulting in the death of nearly 2000 people.

In 2007, the Minneapolis Bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed, leading to 13 fatalities and 145 injuries. Numerous inspectors had flagged structural issues with the bridge as early as 1990, indicating the need for immediate repairs, but regrettably, inadequate actions were taken.

Sadly, neither the telegraphers who warned the Titanic, nor the Vajont Dam engineers, nor the Minneapolis bridge inspectors were taken seriously. Why? Perhaps simply because those with the power to intervene thought they knew more than those who gave the warnings. They rejected the message because they rejected the messengers.

From the extraordinary book that is the Bible, we learn that one of the signs of God's love for his people was the continual sending of his special messengers, the prophets, whose job was to help the people walk on the right path. The words of the prophets were sometimes harsh because they pointed out the errors of the people, but these things were always spoken with the intention of helping and correcting. Unfortunately, sometimes the people did not understand this and rejected or even killed these messengers. It is no coincidence that Jesus himself says to some Pharisees, “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them” (Luke 11:47).

You see, God does the same with us. He does not want to leave us in the darkness of error or evil. That is why he sends us special messengers. They can be notable figures like Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi and Pope Francis among others. However, they can also be the people who live next to us, love and care for us. Still, we too can reject these messengers, especially when the message they communicate is not to our liking. The truth can be painful. For example:”You and your wife work too much and neglect your family.” “Don't you realize that you are spoiling your children?” “You are too materialistic, you never go to church.” “We also have to think of those who are worse off than we are.” And again, “It seems to me that you drink too much,” “You are full of prejudice.” “You always put yourself first.”

If someone who loves us said one or more of these phrases to us, how would we react? Would we immediately be willing to accept their warning or would we lash out at them? No one likes to have their mistakes pointed out, so we must pray to the Lord to have the humility to listen to those who love us, even if what they say is unpleasant and hurts our pride. “For the truth,” Jesus tells us, “will set you free” (John 8:32). We should always value those who have the courage to tell us the truth out of love, as they are true friends who protect us from life’s many dangers.

However, it is not enough to be thankful to God for good friends. We must also have the courage to tell the truth to others. Let’s be like the Jesus, deeply honest, but at the same time gentle and kind.