Living with prophets isn’t easy. I know firsthand. For four years, I lived with an internationally known peace activist, the Jesuit Daniel Berrigan. Let’s just say, not all of our dinner conversations were so peaceful. Dan was personally gentle and soft spoken, a gifted poet and theologian. He was generous, hospitable, and very kind, especially to those who were in any way poor or vulnerable. Dan was also fierce and uncompromising about not only the need for the end to war and for disarmament, but in his promotion of active nonviolence. You might say to yourself, well, of course, so was Jesus! Good for Dan.
At the time, what used to frustrate me about Dan was how impractical and unrealistic he was in the way he went about his activist work. He was always more interested in being true to the non-violent path than in achieving success. To him, the ends should never be used to justify the means. If that meant theatrical demonstrations or marches that did not yield any change in public opinion, so be it. It was still the right thing to do. If it meant being jailed for protesting on a secure military base or for damaging government property, he took this in stride.
For him, the prophets Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and later, John the Baptist, all struck a resonant and determining cord in his heart. Dan shared their either/or way of framing the renunciation of violence and he wasn’t afraid to put himself on the line when he denounced injustice or called for nuclear disarmament. In fact he was imprisoned several times for his protests of the Vietnam War in the 1970’s.
I can’t deny, I agreed with him in principle, but I did not agree with the way he left no wiggle room for people who thought differently. Ironically, he had a kind of “take no prisoners” approach to his non violent activism that polarized people, and led those who held different values to dig their heels in. As a result, it always seemed to me that by avoiding compromise, he seemed to invite resistance. I couldn’t see how this approach would bear fruit, and in fact, I have to admit, I judged him for being self-righteous. Forgive me, Dan.
I say all this as I reflect back now almost 20 years ago. And I confess that I have changed. As we seem to be more and more engulfed in a piecemeal world war, with the threat of robotic, autonomous weapons and world’s major powers investing in another arms race, I see now that a prophetic, non violent denunciation of war is all the more important. What hasn’t changed is my belief that it is important to take pragmatic and diplomatic approaches until all the options are exhausted before making ultimatums of hardening people’s resistance as they stand on the other side of peace.
As a leadership educator and facilitator, I believe in dialogue. I believe in the power of harmonizing interests, and working collaboratively to solve problems. I believe that at the end of the day, it is important that our efforts bear fruit following a process that is mutual, inclusive, and oriented toward a common good.
For this reason, I am so grateful for the particular way in which Pope Leo is modeling prophetic engagement that is respectful, principled, and which avoids unnecessary polarization. In his many statements about the importance of “disarming ourselves,” and serving as peacemakers, he proposes bridgebuilding, respectful listening, and fidelity to what unites us more than what divides us. Pope Leo is inviting us beyond confrontations to work together for a better world that is good for us all.
When Jesus speaks of the one who welcomes the prophet, he suggests that it is only the person who has deep interior freedom and the willingness to sacrifice ego, let alone one’s life, for his Kingdom, who can truly recognize and give hospitality to the prophet. This is a tall order, and I experienced the challenge of this living with Dan. What remains with me as a profound inspiration and an ongoing call to conversion is Dan’s willingness to let go of attachment to outcomes in order to simply do what is good and right with total indifference. I deeply respect the courage and principle that inspired his willingness to lay down his life rather than support the taking of the life of another. Thank you, Dan, for these gifts.
As we reflect on our own relationships to prophets, or our own responsibility for taking prophetic stands on behalf of God’s call to serve his Kingdom by striving for peace, we might consider our baptismal anointing as “priest, prophet, and king.” At our baptism, each of us was authorized and called to take up this prophetic mantle in our own lives, in our work, and in our active participation in civil society. If we’re in leadership roles, this isn’t always so easy, and the temptations to compliance, or complicity can be great.
But the prophet within each of us knows when we have gone too far in making compromises, or accepting injustice. If we’re in touch with that prophetic spirit, the informed conscience within ourselves, we know when we are rationalizing the status quo, passively acquiescing to a growing gap between the rich and poor, or the marginalization of vulnerable people. We have an instinct, if we’re paying attention, to what is morally right or wrong. If we are in the right relationship with God, and attuned to the dignity of the human person, we feel revulsed by injustice, violence, or abuses of power. The question then becomes, what do we do with this prophetic instinct within us, and how?
How each of us takes up our prophetic call is something that each of us must discern, especially for the impact that our choices have for people we love, and for our organizations. These times are calling for such discernment and action from all of us.
With you as siblings in Christ,
