The Prophetic Path: Weekly Summary

Sunday
Most of us were trained to think of Christianity not as a prophetic path, but as a contest, which immediately frames reality in terms of win-lose, winners and losers. The prophetic path says there’s a way of moving toward winning that includes losing. It doesn’t exclude it.
—Richard Rohr

Monday
The prophets kept the word of God earthy. They kept it whole. They kept it real. They would not let us divide earth from heaven. They put heaven and earth together and they said, “It’s all one.”
—Richard Rohr

Tuesday
It is interesting to me that Paul lists prophecy as the second most important of the gifts of the Spirit. Yet I think it’s safe to say that most of us grew up thinking that prophecy was something that existed in the past, but it had no contemporary significance or meaning. We really didn’t expect to meet any prophets.
—Richard Rohr

Wednesday
Although many of the prophets in the Bible are presented as single carriers of God’s word, often there was a community of other prophets that they came from or were associated with. And so, who is your community?
—Barbara A. Holmes

Thursday
Do you believe that life is really dynamic? That it isn’t quite finished yet? That not only are you involved always in a circling series of potentials, but that you are potential. You, potential. Do you believe that?
—Howard Thurman

Friday
The prophetic stream supports learning, the evolution of life toward greater consciousness, and every movement toward justice and communal well-being.
—Nahum Ward-Lev

Send Us Prophets

“I will send them prophets,” the Wisdom of God says, “but they will kill them and afterwards build monuments to them.”
—based on Luke 11:47, 49.

Together, we ask for the courage for each of us to approach the prophetic path, today and in the days to come:

God of the Great Gaze,
We humans prefer satisfying un-truth to
The Truth that is usually unsatisfying.
Truth is always too big for us,
And we are so small and afraid.

So You send us prophets and Truth speakers
To open our eyes and ears to Your Big Picture.
Show us how to hear them, how to support them,
And how to interpret their wisdom.

Help us to trust that Your prophetic voice
May also be communicated through our words and actions.
May we practice a spirit of discernment
And a stance of humility,
So that Your Truth be spoken, not our own.

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Prophet,
Whom we also killed and will always kill
In the name of our little truths.
Help us, for we desire to share in Your Great Gaze. Amen.

References:

“God of the Great Gaze,” prayer from Prophets Then, Prophets Now, conference, July 2006, Center for Action and Contemplation. Conference teachings by Joan Chittister and Richard Rohr available as MP3 download.

Image credit: Jenna Keiper, Untitled Bosque (detail), New Mexico, photograph, used with permission. Benjamin Yazza, Untitled 10 (detail), New Mexico, photograph, used with permission. Click here to enlarge image.

Image inspiration: This year’s images are inspired in form by the 2023 Daily Meditation theme. This week’s main photo takes up most of the image, but we also see a sliver of the image for next week: the next step on our journey.

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A Liberating Path

Rabbi Nahum Ward-Lev is an author and teacher who has thought deeply about the liberating and healing path of the prophets. He writes:

In the prophetic worldview, God supports falling forward, mistake-ridden risk-taking, and boundary crossing for the sake of growth in consciousness and relationship. The prophets perceive God as energizing this journey, animating all life forms to bring forth new ways, to explore new relationships. The prophets also teach that God offers forgiveness to the people when their adventure goes off track, when they behave in ways that betray their friendship with their fellow humans and with God. The God of the prophets continually calls a wayward people to return to right relationship that they might be healed of the consequences of their mistakes: “Assuredly, thus says the Living Presence: If you return, then I will bring you back, and you shall stand before me, and if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth” (Jeremiah 15:19).

The prophetic stream supports learning, the evolution of life toward greater consciousness, and every movement toward justice and communal well-being. At the same time, the prophetic stream offers healing waters when we become aware of our mistakes, cleansing waters that enable us to learn from our mistakes and to move forward.… All we need to perceive is the direction of the journey—toward mutual relationship—and the next step in that direction.…

The prophets, both ancient and modern, have helped me to learn to walk toward liberation. Even with their help my stride is challenged and unsure. Their example, though, has given me, and can give all of us, the courage to take risks and honor mistakes as we struggle to learn our way forward. With this learning we can take the next step on the liberating path. [1]

For theologian and Franciscan Sister Ilia Delio, contemplation uniquely allows us to embark on such a transforming journey.

To paraphrase Steve Jobs [1955–2011], it is the crazy ones who think they can change the world, the round pegs in the square holes, who actually do so because they see things differently. If you see what does not yet exist, and you act according to what you see, you will likely be seen as a little crazy, out of center, a misfit or rebel. But if you stay true to what you see because the power of God is the light of your vision, then you will change the world because you yourself will be changed. You will usher in a new reality by your own transformed being-in-love. This, I believe, is the heart of Christian discipleship.

In sum, contemplative vision is the heart of the Christian life by which we are brought into a new reality, connected through the heart to the whole of life, attuned to the deeper intelligence of nature, and called forth irresistibly by the Spirit to creatively express our gifts in the evolution of self and world. [2]

References:

[1] Nahum Ward-Lev, The Liberating Path of the Hebrew Prophets: Then and Now (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2019), 140, 144.

[2] Ilia Delio, The Hours of the Universe: Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2021), 167.

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Story from Our Community:

I have always had a hyperactive mind that insists on questioning conventional wisdom—not because I believe it’s wrong, but because I’ve always felt it’s important to ask: “Doggone it, how do we KNOW it’s true?” Whenever I voice these concerns, I seem to get a lot of blank stares in response. This is, I’ve found, a lonely way to live. So, when I read Richard’s quote on prophets, I felt seen and deeply nourished: “What everybody is saying, whatever the glib agreement is, prophets say, ‘it’s not true.’” Now, I wouldn’t call myself a prophet, but in those words, I hear that I’m not alone, that there’s a whole class of people who think along the same lines. Those words make me feel encouraged and sustain my deepest self. Thank you. —John B.

God’s Dynamic Intimacy

In this sermon, noted pastor, theologian, and mystic Howard Thurman (1900–1981) describes the faith of the Hebrew prophets:

The prophets of Israel were intimately tied up with the movements of the periods in which they lived. They were involved in the social process, which is very important to remember. They interpreted Israel and its relationship to God … as a primary and personal covenantal relationship. And it is very important to hold that in mind that, for reasons that we cannot quite understand even to this day, in some strange and fascinating and yet miraculous manner this group of people regarded themselves as being [in] some initially unique relationship with the Creator of their own lives and their little world and their little state.…

Now fundamental to this concept … is a philosophy which to read it says that God is inside the historic process: that [God] is not outside of it manipulating it or unmindful of it.

Prophets view God as actively involved in our lives, and Thurman challenges us to respond to this dynamic intimacy:

How do you interpret the events of your life? How do you measure them? Do you live your life on the basis that all that there is to you and what you do is wrapped up in the movement, the isolated, circumscribed movement, pulse beat of your little life? Now, if you do, then you know, you see, that the very nature of life is of such that it is fixed … it is finished, it is complete, and you know you can’t do anything about anything anyway so you don’t try.…

Now there is another point of view, and this is the point of view of the prophet. And that is that human life, as well as the lives of nations, takes place within a context that is dynamic. That always when I am in the presence of any event, I am caught in an encounter with a series of potentials that spread out in the widest possible directions and with the most amazing variety of variation. So that if I am alert in the presence of the event, I seek to deal with the event in terms not merely of what it says, what it looks like, but in terms of what seems to me to be the dynamics of the event, the potentials of the event.

Do you deal with events of your life in that way? Do you believe that life is really dynamic? That it isn’t quite finished yet? That not only are you involved always in a circling series of potentials, but that you are potential. You, potential. And no time band, no time interval is able quite to contain you and the dynamics of your life and your situation. Do you believe that?

References:

Howard Thurman, “The Message of Isaiah II,” June 22, 1952, in Moral Struggle and the Prophets, ed. Peter Eisenstadt and Walter Earl Fluker (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2020), 156, 157, 158–159.

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Prophets Belong in Community

CAC teacher Dr. Barbara Holmes describes our natural resistance to prophets in our midst:

Prophets are difficult to have around. No one wants to claim the title or do the work because of it. In this postmodern age, everybody is uncomfortable with prophets. They yell when you don’t want them to. They ask for trouble when it could be avoided. They don’t have a politically correct bone in their bodies.…

Prophets are leaders, but not leaders of their own choosing. Inevitably, they have some sort of divine encounter. The meet a burning bush, a ram in the bush, or hear a call in the night. They have visions and dreams. They’re quirky and more than a little weird. As an example, take Jeremiah—he’s crying all the time. Isaiah fasts and lies in the dirt; John the Baptist eats locusts, and Huldah prophesies doom. Finally, one of the most important characteristics of prophets is that they are dangerous to the system.…

In bringing messages from God—and God doesn’t mince words—God speaks directly through them. They have a relationship and intimacy with the Divine. They communicate with God through prayer, and direct speech. God walks and talks with them (perhaps not literally but in other ways). They have gifts, and they offer signs and wonders associated with the verification of the presence of God. They have communal connections. They act on behalf of community, not for their own gain, and are dependent on the community for help when they need it.

Holmes emphasizes the communal nature of the prophetic role:

This is a neglected but important aspect of the prophetic call. In Numbers 11:24–29, Moses is exhausted with the people. Basically, God says “Okay, okay, assemble the elders. Look to the community. You were never supposed to do this alone. I told you to do it; I didn’t tell you to do it alone.” How many of us are carrying burdens that are not ours, and are feeling pretty righteous about it? The work of living and dying, raising children, and leading congregations, was never meant to be solitary work. After the elders assemble, Joshua tells Moses that the elders are prophesying, and he says, “Moses, make this stop!” Moses’ reply in Numbers 11:29 is, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that God would put God’s Spirit on them!”

Let’s just sit with that for a minute. Have you ever felt as if God’s Spirit was on you? Although many of the prophets in the Bible are presented as single carriers of God’s word, often there was a community of other prophets that they came from or were associated with. Who is your community? .… If you’re called to the prophetic task, and I think in some aspects all of us are—where is your prophetic community that will feed you and support you and guide you and help you?

References:

Adapted from Barbara A. Holmes, “We Shall Also Be Prophets,” Living School Symposium (Albuquerque, NM: Center for Action and Contemplation, 2022), unpublished transcript.

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Story from Our Community:

I left the faith in my twenties . . . [but after a long journey] I still did not find a sense of peace and deep “knowing.” I finally felt that “knowing” when I heard an interview with Richard Rohr. It made my whole being sing. He gave words to what I have always felt intuitively but couldn’t explain. Reading Richard’s work and the Daily Meditations has brought me back to the well of my childhood faith with the added components of centering prayer and non-dualistic thinking. I would now say that I am an inter-spiritual person, aware that I must go down in order to go up. This is both frightening and exhilarating. I am so grateful! —Kael S.

The Gift of Prophecy in the Church

You must want love more than anything else; but still hope for the spiritual gifts as well, especially prophecy.
—1 Corinthians 14:1, Jerusalem Bible

Richard considers the gift of prophecy in the church, and why so many of us fail to recognize this gift today:

It is interesting to me that Paul lists prophecy as the second most important of the gifts of the Spirit. Yet I think it’s safe to say that most of us grew up thinking that prophecy was something that existed in the past, but it had no contemporary significance or meaning. We really didn’t expect to meet any prophets; if we did, I’m sure we’d think they were eccentric or fanatic or strange. But Paul writes, “To some [Christ’s] gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the Body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–12, Jerusalem Bible). In Corinthians, he specifically names it right after love, ahead of other gifts (see 1 Corinthians 14:1).

So here we have this phenomenon of something that’s supposedly central and yet most of us know nothing about it. Has something gone wrong or is Paul wrong? I picture a big jigsaw puzzle, but there’s a piece missing, and I think it’s the importance of the meaning of prophecy.

First of all, let’s assume it doesn’t mean anything we think a prophet represents: someone who foretells the future, or issues dire warnings. Let’s get rid of that. Also, traveling around the world, I’ve found many churches named Christ the King, but I’ve never found a church named Christ the Prophet. And hardly ever, except in the last few years, have I seen Christ the Prophet pictured in art. I think this reveals there’s just a great big non-understanding, non-appreciation, even non-expectation of Jesus in that role. We don’t expect it, and if we don’t expect it, if we don’t want it, if we aren’t looking for it, we sure aren’t going to get it.

When I think of seminaries for those of us who are supposed to be teachers and apostles in the church, we literally trained people to grow in the other gifts of the Spirit. We educated them, we affirmed them, certified them, ordained them. But in fact, if anyone would dare to think of himself or herself as a prophet, they probably wouldn’t even be welcome in the church. They’d probably be assumed to be dangerous or critical or negative or mistaken.

All I can presume is that there’s some kind of ideological bias here. Why is it that we can’t see this gift, or look for it, or expect it? I think those who establish religion, and those who build churches, have an inherent bias against the charism or gift of the prophet. The prophet is always a challenge to “business as usual.”

References:

Adapted from Richard Rohr, Way of the Prophet (Albuquerque, NM: Center for Action and Contemplation, 1994), audio recording. No longer available for purchase.

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A Journey to the Heart of God

For Father Richard, the power of the prophetic path lies in the tradition and example of the Hebrew prophets. In this excerpt from a series recorded in 1980, Richard describes how a prophetic imagination keeps the church and our faith alive:

In many ways, I think part of the explanation for perhaps the powerlessness of much of modern Christianity has been that it has lost touch with the Hebrew Scriptures. In particular, we have lost touch with the prophets. When we lose the sense of the prophets and their vision, we enter into a very overly spiritualized interpretation of Christianity. The prophets kept the word of God earthy. They kept it whole. They kept it real. They would not let us divide earth from heaven. They put heaven and earth together and they said, “It’s all one.”

The prophets speak out of a deep experience of God. It seems, somehow, that they’ve entered into the heart of God. They’re bold enough and brazen enough to almost dare to say, “I’ve seen God. I know what God thinks. I’m going to tell you what God thinks.” It takes a strange kind of self-confidence, and even inspiration, to be able to speak with the self-assurance of the Jewish prophets. I think what they give us are, among other things, new images. They give us new images by which we can capture and grasp reality. It seems that a failure of the modern church, maybe of the church in every age, has been a failure of imagination. The prophets explode our imaginations if we can learn how to listen to them and learn to understand the images and metaphors with which they speak.

Imagination is largely a matter of being able to re-image life in new ways. It is not to be caught or trapped in old images of hopelessness. When we’re trapped in old images, we keep living out of them, fighting against them, resisting them, and even saying they don’t work. But it seems we are incapable oftentimes of creating or even accepting new images and living out of those new images.

The prophets give us a sense of the possible. They give us a sense of the impossible, too. That’s why, frankly, they are so hard to listen to—because they explode our minds and push back the limits of our imagination. They increase our capacity to feel. They intensify our capacity for suffering. That’s why people don’t want to listen to them, because prophets increase our ability to feel what God is feeling. To feel God’s pain, God’s desire, God’s longing, and even God’s anger, if you’ll allow.

The prophetic path is a journey into the heart of God.

References:

Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Prophets (San Antonio, TX: Catholic Charismatic Bible Institute, 1980), audio recording. No longer available for purchase.

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Story from Our Community:

As a woman in my fifties, I am coming to the end of my life journey after travelling with cancer for a while. Your daily emails over the last few years have been such an immense blessing that I feel that I have been on retreat. There have been so many occasions of spiritual nourishment and teaching that have enriched these years and opened so many doors of learning for me. Thank you to Fr Richard and the team for your wisdom, kindness and action. —Siobhan M.

Choosing the Prophetic Path

On this New Year’s Day, we invite you to explore the theme for this year’s Daily Meditations: The Prophetic Path. We begin with Father Richard’s understanding of the theme and what it means to him:

Our Daily Meditation theme this year is called The Prophetic Path, and I don’t think it’s an accidental phrase. I offer it in contrast to what most of us were trained to think of as Christianity in general—not as a prophetic path, but as a contest, which immediately frames reality in terms of win-lose, winners and losers. The prophetic path says there’s a way of moving toward winning that includes losing. It doesn’t exclude it. Can we see the genius of that? It’s what you’ve often heard me call perfection as the inclusion of imperfection. Sin is part of the journey towards salvation. Once you hear it, I hope you can say, “Of course, that’s obvious!”

Most of us prefer the language of courtroom and judgment and contest, where there are a few winners and lots of losers. This has not served history well. The prophetic path talks about a journey of two steps forward that necessarily continues to include one step backward. That falling, that failing, that suffering—use whatever word—becomes the energy for the next two steps forward. This is wisdom literature as opposed to contest literature. We’re going to use the meditations this year to try to illustrate that the Christian way is a prophetic path. [1]

Father Richard has long described the prophets as those who offer a “third way” beyond competitive, us-and-them thinking:

There is a third way beyond fight or flight, conservative or liberal, and it probably is a way of “kneeling.” Most people would just call it “wisdom,” which is always distinguished from mere intelligence. It demands a transformation of consciousness and a move beyond the dualistic win/lose mind.

We come to this “third way” of the prophetic path only over time. In the words of W. H. Auden, “For the garden is the only place there is, but you will not find it / Until you have looked for it everywhere and found nowhere that is not a desert.” [2] The gospel accepts this essentially tragic nature of human existence; it is willing to bear the contradictions that are imprinted on all of reality. It will always be a road less traveled. Let’s call it “unstable stability”! But for some reason, it is only the real stability, because it is a truthful map of reality, and it is always the truth that sets us free. It is contact with Reality that finally heals us. And contemplation, quite simply, is meeting reality in its most simple, immediate, and contradictory form. It is the resolving of those immense contradictions that characterizes the mystics, the saints, the prophets, and all those who pray. The result is always a “third something.” [3]

References:

[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Introduction to the 2023 Theme,” Daily Meditations, Center for Action and Contemplation, video.

[2] W. H. Auden, “Advent, IV, Recitative,” in For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio, ed. Alan Jacobs (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013), 8.

[3] Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Playing the Prophet Close,” in Contemplation in Action (New York: Crossroad Publishing, 2006), 27, 28.

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The Prophetic Path: Weekly Summary

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Meet The Team

A Liberating Path

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God’s Dynamic Intimacy

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Prophets Belong in Community

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The Gift of Prophecy in the Church

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A Journey to the Heart of God

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Meet The Team

Choosing the Prophetic Path

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The Prophetic Path: Weekly Summary

A Liberating Path

God’s Dynamic Intimacy

Prophets Belong in Community

The Gift of Prophecy in the Church

A Journey to the Heart of God

Choosing the Prophetic Path

Category Archive

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