Jesus warns us to beware of the false prophets in our midst in today’s Gospel. However, it may not be so easy to distinguish a false prophet from one of God’s holy messengers. Tomorrow, we celebrate the solemnity of the nativity of John the Baptist. John was recognized as a true prophet from the time of his birth. He was asked by God to make the ultimate sacrifice for his faith, beheaded for speaking the truth, becoming a martyr for the faith. Speaking the truth is a sign of a true prophet. In speaking the truth, the prophet challenges the people of God, pushing them beyond complacency and past their comfort zone. The prophet’s message often contains words that the people do not want to hear. A false prophet can disguise himself, clothing himself in righteousness and using that righteousness to spread lies and rumors in his proclamation of a message that is not the Word of God.
Jesus tells us today that prophets can come disguised as sheep, but deep inside they can be wolves who will destroy and tear down, rather than lift up and build. Jesus asserts that we will know the false prophets by their lack of fruits. Thus, it is important for us to study the word of God and the teachings of the Church in order for us to know when we are in the presence of a false prophet, to be able to distinguish the false prophecies from the message God wants us to hear? A lot of this is our responsibility. We cannot just sit back and be passive. We must properly form our consciences on our journey not faith, not making judgments on things of which we are ignorant.
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