Perspective on a Wordless Wednesday

The Weight of Our Expectations

24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

Luke 4:24

These are the words uttered by Jesus Christ at the start of his ministry, which he had just announced in front of the very people he grew up with in Nazareth, in rather bold fashion in fulfillment of Scripture.  These are the words sung by Joan Osborne, trying to picture what our reaction would be if God were among us as man–

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home…

Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody calling on the phone
‘cept for the Pope maybe in Rome

I can imagine few things would be more crushing than expectations for anyone claiming to be a prophet.  What exactly does a prophet look like?  What do they do for fun?  Can they joke, smile, laugh, play?  Are they all curmudgeons?   What is to be the key prophetic characteristic?  Brash, bold, solemn, quiet dignity, old, wizened, unkempt, loving, serene, crazed, severe, scolding, bearded, mystical, wise, charismatic, learned, with plenty of experience or a complete lack thereof? I am not entirely sure.  I am quite sure that in any case being human is very likely to get in the way of anyone believing any claim for them to be what they are.

Points of interest 4/12

I am sad to announce that MInd, Soul, and Body will be on hiatus for the next week as I will be out of town. Okay, I’m not really sad, I am taking a much needed vacation and will get some lovely regenerative time.

Don’t despair, it turns out the interweb goes on without me. In fact, the past week had a plethora of wonderful posts, perhaps even enough keep you the reader, so busy that you will forget who I am. So, in a selfless exercise in true sacrifice I present you with what just may be the finest points of interest to date.