When Cult Begins to Stagnate, and Prophets become Rebels

A witnessing Christian life is an integral sum of pious, prophetic, and mystical dimensions of Christ encounter.  This was the very thing that differentiated Christianity from the cultic dominance of jewish practices. Some recent spiritual practices have constrained people to the cultic dimension alone. All the more it is disastrous when new tendencies limit priesthood to this cultic function. The Christian tradition follows the priesthood of Christ, not that of Aaron. Cults can have the forms of ritualism or of exercise of authority, both of which have manipulative power. Christ asks us to be a community of witnesses, whether priests or laity according to our call, making up his body. A romanticised view of priesthood and church as something external to common faithful is actually damaging our vision of the church.

We cannot be totally mystical, we need touch with the sacred in the real world in human expressions, and need to respond to the call of the time. Cult might dangerously resist this response to time, and pathetically begin to stagnate. We cannot have the holy, holy, holy experience in incense, altars, vestments… without a mystic orientation towards the Holy, and without being mindful of the human cry expressed in different social trends. Without the other two, prophetism may end up as rebelliousness or intolerance.
It may be appropriate to reflect on our reactions to various issues on the following lines: we are challenged and troubled by many things, nut are we ready and open to experience the consolation of the Holy Spirit? Are we ready to be placed on the Cross of Christ? In our responses do we think with the Church? It is important because we are standing for a life-giving community of humanity whereas the struggle for the success of mere ideologies find their ends in themselves.