Prophet, Priest and King



PROPHET, PRIEST AND KING

Mario D’Couto

            As we celebrate the feast of St. John Bosco, a saint who lived the contemplative life in action, this article is a little in – depth understanding of what it actually means to live a contemplative life in action.

            With the fast paced life we live in, there is every possibility that we can go mad for whatever reason it may be. It seems as though the world we live in is trying to propagate the idea of “DO – BE – HAVE” which translates into doing/working continuously so that through one’s work, one may be recognized and praised and complemented which consequently leads to a vicious cycle leading or making work as a form of idolatry. Work without perspective is useless. When we have what is in our mind, it is only then we are able to create and execute. Creation cannot precede thought; you cannot put the horse before the cart. This is one reason why many of us succumb to the pressures of life because of which we may fall into depression, sadness, tension or could even have suicidal tendencies.

            The remedy to this is “BE – DO – HAVE” which translates into knowing first who you are which sets the tone of our lives and which gives one’s life, a sense of direction, purpose and meaning. Once, this is set, the actions automatically flow and so does the other perks and benefits but more than just that it is a feeling of great self – esteem that governs it all. When you know your true worth, you would not be so perturbed with the outcome of your action as when you equate action with success.

            The questions that you and I should therefore ask are, “Who am I?” “How am I identified?” “Is it through my name, qualities, my looks, my education/my job (present status)?” The way we look at ourselves will affect our attitude towards our family, our friends and others. It can affect our work, or it can even affect our relationship with God.

            God created us men and women, in His image, each unique in its own capacity with one’s strength and weakness. It is therefore important to become aware that no matter what, I’m still God’s beloved child. To be a contemplative is to be aware. He created us for a purpose and a mission to be accomplished in and through us and He can do all this only if we co – operate with His plan.

            Self – awareness includes the following 3 aspects,

1.      Awareness of self
2.      Acceptance and respect of self
3.      Once you are aware of who you are and are able to accept and respect yourself with all your strength and weaknesses, you will be able to accept and respect others. Besides, how can you love someone if you don’t love or value your own self?

            Thus, while getting to know, love and accept yourself, it is crucial to know who you are.

            In such situations, where do we turn to?  The answer is quite obvious. Our Lord and Master is always there for us. All the saints in the Church based their lives on God. Of course, we may tend to speak of them in superlative degrees, but they were the most humble. They knew that their holiness was not because of their own merit but it was God working though them. They were ‘aware’ of the need for God in their lives and that is what sets them apart. This brings me to the main point of the article.

            Christ’s life can be understood in 3 ways, as Prophet, Priest and King. Now it’s true that Jesus is God, but we can categorize or understand His life on earth under these 3 aspects. Perhaps, it would be worth trying to understand the different task or responsibility associated with each of their 3 aspects. Let’s take a closer look,

1)    Prophet: A prophet is the moral conscience of society who had the task of admonishing, instructing and speaking about God’s plan for His people. Jesus manifested all this in the highest degree. I will not go too much into detail as the 4 Gospels are rich enough to show why it is so.

2)   Priest: The role of the priest is to sacrifice. Jesus is truly the High – Priest because He sacrificed Himself on the Cross to save us from eternal damnation.

3)    King: The role of a King is to rule, govern and protect. Our Lord is the true King who has established His Kingdom through His Passion, Death and Resurrection. He is truly Sovereign.

            But how do we translate this into our own lives? Let us take a look,

1)   Prophet: In as much as the prophet acts as a moral conscience of society, we too can become like that by bearing witness to the life that Christ lived. Through us, people should sense that it is Christ living in us by the way we lead our lives and by our example.

2)    Priest: Given the sacrificial aspect of the priesthood, we are called to give or offer our actions to God. Quite often, we may find that things may not go our way, but that’s where we are called to offer our pain and suffering to God just as Our Lord and Master did.

3)  King: As the popular saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility”, Kingship can be seen as a form of responsibility. True Kingship has never been explained in a better way than from the life of our Lord who came to serve and not to be served. Each of us is responsible in some way to other people, our family, our co – workers, customers and so on. As a married couple, a husband is responsible to his wife and children as the protector and provider and so is it with the women, in caring and nurturing for the family. Kingship in its true form is not about sitting on top and looking down but it is about serving.

            To sum up all this, this would not be possible if we forget that the vertical and horizontal dimension of our lives should always go together. The vertical dimension is our relationship with God and the horizontal dimension is our relationship with others. We cannot do good works without acknowledging the source and origin of it nor can we go along with the vertical dimension of our lives and forget that ultimately true love is realized through action as there is a quote that beautifully puts it, “A saint is one whose head is not stuck in the clouds but whose feet are also firmly on the ground.”

            At the time of St. John Bosco’s canonization, it was asked, “When did Don Bosco pray (‘Don’ is the Italian word for ‘Father’. This question was raised since St. John Bosco was a very busy man)?” to which it was cross – questioned “When did Don Bosco not pray?” Here was a man who lived out the vertical and horizontal dimension in the best possible way. Every act, every work that he undertook was for God’s glory. May we, as we celebrate his feast, emulate his example in following our Lord more closely.          

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