The morning I awakened to discover the results of the USA election, I had a very strange reaction. I’ll share this with you by just sharing with you what I wrote in my journal about it:
I woke up yesterday to the news that Trump won. Devastating and depressing!
But I had a very interesting internal response to it that I didn’t expect.
It was a theological one.
What I sensed at a deep level was the importance and necessity of the church to fulfil its prophetic role. I think the church has two roles— pastoral and prophetic. It must fulfil these two functions. But it has dropped the ball for both! And the results of this election prove it.
Instead, the church is enticed by kings. This is the story of Saul and Samuel all over again.
I also felt a deep urgency that we need prophets. Not fore-tellers, but forth-tellers. People who speak truth to power, including the power of the church.
We need prophets! Like Thomas Merton. Dorothy Day. Howard Thurman. James Baldwin. Martin Luther King, Jr.. The Berrigan brothers. William Stringfellow.
Who are the prophets today who won’t sell themselves out to the powers? Who won’t be pawns of the authorities, including the church?
We need Jeremiahs rather than the hired court prophets he was up against.
I think Christianity ought to be a manifestation of love that is universal and ought to reflect this in the church as a microcosmic model for what is possible.
But it has failed.
How can the church or anyone be both pastoral and prophetic?
Can the church care for all people while speaking truth to power?
I personally struggle with this question on how to be bold and courageous and speak truth to power and the abuse of power, while at the same time compassionately care for people. Because one gives a tender vibe, while the other gives an abrasive one.
But… the prophetic is in service to the pastoral. We speak truth to power in order to demand that it do its job of caring for everyone.
Like a shepherd gently caring for his sheep, moseying around with his flock. Until wolves show up. Then he leaps with rage and strength to protect.
It’s about justice for all. Not just some.
Has the church abandoned its prophetic role because it has abandoned caring for its own people and all people? Or has it preferred to serve the powers in order to secure its own safety and future?
We need prophets!
Real ones.
Now!
