What it means to be a Christian can be described by many different schemata. Two of these are contemplation and prophetic involvement. This idea comes from Richard Rohr in his book, Dancing Standing Still: Healing the World from a Place of Prayer. In the book Rohr says:
“God offers us quiet, contemplative eyes, but God also calls us to prophetic and critical involvement in the pain and sufferings of our world—both at the same time. This is so obvious in the life and ministry of Jesus that I wonder why it has not been taught as an essential part of Christianity.”1
The contemplative aspect of Christ’s teachings has to do with going inside and experiencing the presence of God by letting go of yourself. Many people refer to this as prayer and they emphasize the importance of a strong prayer life. Sometimes the concept of prayer is limited to asking for something or giving thanks. “Asking” and “giving thanks” are activities we undertake. Contemplative prayer is different. It’s about our NOT being active and allowing God to be the active one.
The prophetic aspect of our calling is to proclaim God’s expectations of all people. I struggled with how to write this because “proclaiming God’s word” is often equated to talking about salvation and going to heaven. In the Bible, the prophets were often more concerned with issues of justice than with issues of how to worship. The focus of Jesus’ ministry was on the poor more than on what was the right way to worship.
I believe that Rohr is correct in emphasizing the need for both contemplative prayer and prophetic action in our lives as Christians. To emphasize only the contemplative prayer part of things results in a faith which doesn’t impact the world. In many ways the church has suffered from inaction and many people in the world see the church as irrelevant.
To emphasize the prophetic action without the contemplative prayer aspect of the Christian life is likely to result in a person running from ethical crisis to ethical crisis without any real connection or direction from God. Some who have criticized the church’s lack of prophetic action have left the church just to be a do-gooder without connection with God.
Each and every one of the followers of Christ need this two-pronged approach to living the Christian life. Neither is easy. It takes dedication and determination to have a strong contemplative prayer life. And it takes courage and awareness to live out the ideals of justice that Jesus talked about.
Take time to check out your life in Christ. Are both contemplative prayer and prophetic action a part of your Christian life?
- Rohr, SJ Richard. Dancing Standing Still: Healing the World from a Place of Prayer; A New Edition of a Lever and a Place to Stand. Paulist Press. Kindle Edition. Location 179-184 ↩︎
Ross T Lucas 