Sunday Soul: Prophetic Imagination

My Sunday posts will veer a bit from the traditional focus on the political science perspective. My hope is that you have great boundaries and don't check your email on Sundays. For years I had screen-free Sundays, a habit to which I would like to return. But in the present moment if you don't check the news for one day you might wake up missing a civil liberty, so I get it that it is harder to take time away. Just in case you find yourself checking your email this morning, here's a few ways to care for your soul and nervous system as we envision an alternative future.

1. Prophetic Imagination

Years ago I did a deep dive into the Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann. I believe that I first heard his name in an interview between Rob Bell and Rabbi Nahum Ward Lev. In that interview, Ward Lev spoke beautifully about the Hebrew prophets. If you are in the mood for something akin to a sermon this morning, I would recommend a listen (interview starts at minute 5 of the podcast).

Here's just a few quotes that demonstrate how forcefully the two speak to the present moment:

"I think people often think about prophets as angry, old men shaking their finger in accusation about how bad people are and I think that's a misread. I think in some ways that's an imperial read on a subversive text. These prophets were actually people who were so imbued with God's love for creation that anything that limited the flourishing of life, of people, of life itself was intolerant for them because it was so inconsistent with God's love flowing in creation. So these were people who saw the world through these eyes of love, and for them, anything that obstructed that flourishing was to be brought down."

Rabbi Nahum continued, "Rather than foretelling the future, what the prophets were about was saying what looks so solid and substantial now... if it is oppressive, it is indeed coming down. And then they were so filled with God's love that they had to transcend the brokenness of this moment to foresee and articulate an alternative future. So it's not predicting the future, it's envisioning a possible alternative future that offered radically new and potential opportunities for more widespread human flourishing..."

"If you made a graph of all of the empires throughout history, the rise is largely gradual over many centuries, and the fall is precipitous."

Rabbi Nahum's book on this subject The Liberating Path of the Hebrew Prophets: Then and Now looks at different prophets from the Hebrew Scriptures and from contemporary times to demonstrate the urgency of this type of prophetic imagination. This idea of not only calling out what is unacceptable in our current society but envisioning an alternative society supportive of widespread human suffering is an idea that originated with Walter Brueggemann's 1979 book Prophetic Imagination. Both of these books are great resources for contemporary times.

In my own life I have experienced this spiritual law, that if something is oppressive then it will come down, with shocking speed, so I know it to be true. It is easy to think of the contemporary power structure as permanent, but given how oppressive it is becoming, I doubt its longevity. Something is going to change. But to what will we change?

I'm bringing up this subject because I feel that there is a serious risk for people who desire to see widespread flourishing in this country to get caught up in documenting all of the ways our leaders are failing to build this type of society and we might abdicate our responsibility of envisioning and then creating a better society. Might I suggest that at least once a week we all give our attention to that which we want to create, rather than critiquing what is not working?

I was amused last night listening to Ezra Klein's latest podcast in which he was actually interviewed by his co-author Derek Thomson about the intellectual history of their recent book Abundance. He remarked that he had been complaining about a problem rampant among the left, but his co-author actually articulated it as a positive vision - that's how he knew they should coauthor. In his words, they were "circling the same book." So if you're looking for a contemporary example of someone with prophetic imagination, you might take a look at that resource.

I once taught an adult Sunday school class using Rabbi Nahum's books. I'll post a few of the handouts that you can use as reading guides if you chose to look at the book (or if you just want to get a sense for its contents).

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

2. Acceptance

Lately I find that I keep returning to a longtime favorite meditation, Tara Brach's Opening Our Hearts to Life as It Is. This meditation invites the sitter to consider the vitality that is at the heart of presence. In this, it is an interesting companion to the Rabbi Nahum conversation, as Rabbi Nahum describes God as that pulsating energy at the heart of creation. This is a useful resource for the present moment because many people are in denial about the seriousness of the moment we face, and giving our attention to acceptance is a more mature response. Many others are trying to jump immediately into action. But action might not be wise. What is needed first is to accept the reality of the moment, to connect to our own inner resources, and from there to receive guidance on next steps.

3. Next steps

The Tao te Ching teaches that next steps arise in stillness. I spent about a decade reflecting on chapter 15, and I'll offer it to you here as a way of conclusion. I really love the Stephen Mitchell interpretation of Lao Tzu's text:

The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.

They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.

Sunday is a great day to envision an alternative future of widespread human flourishing, to sit quietly, and to let right action arise by itself.