Chapter 2. The Spirit and Prophetic Ministry (Divine Energy: God Beyond Us, Within Us, Among Us) (Dorr, Donal)

Throughout human history, in people of every race and culture, there have been individuals who believed that God touched them, moved them to action, or spoke to them. Traditional peoples usually have shamans or 'diviners' who specialize in receiving or interpreting messages from 'the beyond'. In the Old Testament, the prophets played a role rather similar to that of the seers of the other religions. They believed they were chosen by God and inspired by the divine spirit to play a special role in society.

The New Testament makes it clear that the first Christians saw themselves as successors to the prophets of the earlier era and moved by the same Spirit. It was the outpouring of the Spirit which inspired them to reach out and share their experience of God with others (Acts 2:14-41). At first this outreach was to their Jewish compatriots. But before long the early Christians found themselves led by the Spirit to reach out further and bring the Good News of Jesus to the gentile world around them (e.g. Acts 13:2: 'The Holy Spirit said: "Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me to do the work to which I have called them"'; cf. Acts 13:4-8).

For believers today, as for the first Christians, the outpouring of the Spirit is the culmination of the Christian faith. The Spirit enables us to understand and remember what Jesus taught and what he means for our world (cf. Jn 14:26; 16:13). And it is the Spirit who sends Christians on mission, just as Jesus himself was led by the Spirit (Lk 4:1,14) and as his first followers were sent (Jn 20:22-3; cf. Acts 4: 31: 'They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God's message with boldness.')

But those who feel themselves called by the Holy Spirit to bring Good News to others need to be aware that Christianity has no monopoly of that Spirit. For the Spirit can be experienced in two very different modes. On the one hand, the Spirit comes as the full blossoming of the Christian faith. On the other hand, this same Spirit has come to people long before the Church and is at work in a more 'anonymous' form among people and in situations where Christ is considered irrelevant or is quite unknown. In this chapter I propose to look at the presence and work of the Spirit not just in a Christian context but from a much broader point of view.

A good place to begin a study of the action of God's Spirit in our world is with an examination of the notion of prophetic ministry. In the first section of this chapter I shall start with Moses and the Old Testament prophets and go on to look briefly at the prophetic ministry of Jesus and his followers down through the ages. Then I shall widen the focus further to include prophetic figures from the secular world and non-Christian traditions. In the second section I shall look at prophetic movements and the role they are called by the Spirit to play in human society.

When people speak of a prophetic ministry what they usually have in mind is one which involves a strong commitment to human liberation. There is no doubt that social justice was a major concern of the Old Testament prophets and that those who today feel called to be prophetic are deeply engaged in the struggle for the fundamental rights of the poor and oppressed. But this work of liberation and empowerment needs to be situated within a wider understanding of the role of the Spirit.

There are two crucial points to be emphasised:

-Firstly, to exercise a prophetic ministry is to allow oneself to be the instrument of the Holy Spirit.

-Secondly, what the Spirit gives to the community through the prophet is not just a message but life-a share in God's own life. This divine life can come in many forms-as vision, insight or truth, as challenge, as comfort and new hope, as joy or peace, as celebration, or simply as a surge of vibrant energy.

In order to have an adequate notion of what is involved in prophetic ministry, Christians need to have a deep understanding of the life and work of Jesus. But to understand the ministry of Jesus one must have some appreciation of what prophecy meant in the long biblical tradition which went before him-a tradition stretching back to the time of Moses.

The Biblical authors took it for granted that God frequently intervened to direct the affairs of the world and to guide human history. They saw some people as chosen to be God's special conscious agents in this intervention or as interpreters of God's activity or spokespersons on God's behalf. Such chosen instruments were prophets in the biblical sense. They were people moved by God's Spirit. (We must, of course, keep in mind that, in Old Testament times, people did not have a concept of the Trinity and so they saw the Spirit as an aspect of Yahweh, namely, the life breath of God.)

The biblical prophets saw themselves as different from the seers of the other religions. This difference was not solely that the prophets believed themselves to be in touch with the true God rather than a false god. There was also the fact that they were not primarily concerned with messages to individuals or to families. Their's was a call from Yahweh to deliver a message to the community as a whole or to the ruling powers, to pass on to them God's word of challenge or consolation. This responsibility for God's people meant that the prophets saw themselves-and were seen by others-as continuing the ministry of Moses.

The relationship of Moses with God was so close and his contact so regular that the Old Testament does not present him as just one prophet among many. Rather he stands at the origin of the prophetic office-so much so that the prophets who came after him were seen as sharing in the prophetic spirit which was originally given to him. This is shown vividly in the account given in the Book of Numbers about how the Spirit was given to those whom Moses chose to share his work. Moses had become swamped by the burden of caring for his people and adjudicating their disputes. God's solution, as the biblical writer describes it, was not simply to inspire other prophets. Rather, God took some of the prophetic spirit which rested on Moses and passed it over to the seventy elders of the people (Num 11:17, 25, 26).

The later prophets saw themselves as sharing to some degree in the liberating and leadership work of Moses. But their role as leaders was much less comprehensive than that of Moses. By the time of the major Old Testament prophets, the task of leadership of God's people had been divided into three different roles-those of the kings, the priests and the prophets. Consequently, the prophets did not normally act as leaders of public worship; that was the task of the priests. Similarly, they normally left day-to-day political affairs to the kings. This does not at all mean that the prophets were not involved in politics; but their role was not an administrative one. They were concerned rather with such major issues as the survival of the nation, the direction of its foreign policy and the protection of the more vulnerable groups in the country.

The prophet was chosen by God to act as a mouthpiece or representative for God. When the community as a whole or, more commonly, its rulers, judges and powerful classes, were guilty of injustice or were unfaithful to the covenant with God, the prophets, inspired by the Spirit of God, put forward a 'word' of challenge. To those who felt secure in oppressing others it came as a warning or a threat (e.g. Is 3:15: 'What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?'). On the other hand, when the people of God were themselves victims of oppression and were broken in spirit, the prophets brought them a 'word' of comfort and relief from God and the hope of a promised new world (e.g. Is 40:1: 'Comfort my people'; Is�41:10: 'I am with you, do not be dismayed; I will strengthen you, I will help you'; Is 65:17: 'Behold I create new heavens and a new earth').

Those who were chosen as prophets were often quite reluctant to take on the task. Jeremiah felt that he was only a child, quite unable to speak God's word-until he was reassured by an unequivocal call from God, with a guarantee that God would be with him (Jer. 1:5-9). In later life, too, he was often a very unwilling prophet- especially when things became tough (e.g. Jer 20:7-15). Isaiah felt quite unworthy to speak God's word until his lips had been purified by a burning coal from the altar (Isaiah 6:5-8). Another reluctant prophet was Amos (Amos 7:14-5). Despite all their hesitations, the prophets felt so moved by the power of God's call that they dared not refuse it.

The prophetic word of the Old Testament prophets had a triple aspect which can be expressed in the three words 'solidarity', 'transcendence' and 'lavishness':

First, the prophets were immersed in the pain, the hope, the struggle and the joy of their own people. It was out of this deep solidarity with the people that the prophetic word welled up within them.

Second, the word came not simply from within the prophet and within the community but also-and primarily-from a God who remained transcendent. Because it came from this God who was beyond the limitations of our world, it was capable of bringing new life, new hope and a new power into the world and into God's people.

Third, God's intervention had about it a quality of lavishness which marked it as entirely gratuitous, a gift of grace. For instance, the Spirit of God was poured out not only on those elders whom Moses had brought together outside the camp, but also on the two elders who had stayed inside and were therefore not expected to receive the gift of prophecy (Num 11:17). Similarly, God sent an extraordinary number of quails as food for the people to show that there was no limit to the divine power (Num 11:23, 32); and, contrary to all expectation, the food offered by Elisha to a hundred of his followers was more than sufficient to satisfy them (II Kgs 4:42-4).

If we were to focus mainly on the books of the major prophets, we might be inclined to put an undue emphasis on prophetic inspiration as giving rise to a message. So it is important to realize that this inspiration finds expression in other ways as well. In Hebrew the term 'dabar' means 'word'; but it also means 'action'.

It is not surprising, then, to find that at times in the Old Testament the 'word' from God was a symbolic action, as when Jeremiah was called to break an earthenware pot as a warning to the people of God's anger with them (Jer 19:10; cf Ezek 24:3-6). Sometimes the inspiration of the Spirit produces powerful deeds such as the victories of Samson, Judith and Esther-not to mention the triumph of Moses over the Pharaoh. At other times the message of God was conveyed through the very life of the prophet-for instance when Hosea was told to take a prostitute as his wife (Hos 3:1-3). The prophets were expected to live by and witness to the word they had received; that word became the central focus and meaning of their lives.

In order to come to a proper understanding of the inspiration of the Spirit it is important to hold on to the earlier, and continuing, notion of the prophetic spirit as a share in the life and energy of God. The most striking instance of this is the well-known account of how the Spirit of God led the prophet Ezekiel to a valley filled with dead bones and inspired him to breathe new life into them-a life that was a share in God's own breath (Ezek 37:1-10). Elijah used his prophetic power to restore life to the child of the woman who had shared her food with him (I Kings 17:19-22). It is well to remember also that divine inspiration finds expression at times in outbursts of noisy 'enthusiasm' (e.g. Num 11:25-6), and at other times in renewed hope for those who have been cowed.

The prophet's sharing in the divine life also brings with it a power of healing. For instance, Elisha was inspired to heal the leprosy of the Syrian general Naaman (II Kings 5:10). Such acts of healing by the prophets provide the background against which the people of Jesus' time could understand that he was engaged in a prophetic ministry when he was healing the sick and delivering those who found themselves oppressed by evil spirits.

Even where the prophet does use words, it may be better not to see this 'message' primarily as a communication of new information or knowledge. More important are the sense of hope and comfort which the message brings. For instance, there are many prophecies in the second part of the book of Isaiah where God is reassuring the people that they will never be forgotten (e.g.

'Can a woman forget her baby at the breast ... but even if she should forget, I shall not forget you'�Is 49:15). Their purpose is to reassure a people who are slipping into hopelessness, or are in danger of losing a sense of their identity as God's chosen people. Even the many prophecies which consist of harsh words of condemnation are ultimately intended to bring comfort and hope to the people-especially to the poor; for to condemn those who are engaged in exploitation is to bring solace to those who are their victims.

The Old Testament understanding of the role of the prophet provided a language and frame of thinking in which the people of his own time and his own country could begin to comprehend the role and the person of Jesus. Like the prophets he spoke in the name of God, he challenged abuses, he brought comfort and 'Good News' to those who were despised or outcast and he condemned the hypocrisy of those who imagined that their fine prayers and sacrifices could provide cover for arrogance or exploitation of the poor and the weak. Like some of the prophets, Jesus performed healing 'wonders' which gave credibility to his message. His life-style echoed his message-and in this too he followed the prophetic way. And, like several of the major prophets, he was rejected and condemned by those who held power in society.

The major task of every prophet is one of discernment-not just in personal matters but in relation to crucial public issues in the political, social and cultural-religious life of the wider community or nation. So, as in the case of the earlier prophets, the first task of Jesus was 'to read the signs of the times'. This meant being able to distinguish between different kinds of historical era or epoch and recognizing which particular kind of epoch the people of his time and his nation were going through during his life.{1} For instance: Was this the right time to rebel against the Romans in a struggle for national liberation, or was it a time for passive resistance and endurance? Was it a time for emphasis on the special relationship between God and the 'Chosen People', or a time when pious Jews should recognize the work of God's Spirit in other nations as well as their own and perhaps make common cause with God-fearing gentiles? Should this time be seen as one when a great calamity was facing Israel, or was it rather a time of new hope and new opportunities?

These were crucial issues facing the people of Palestine in the time of Jesus, even though very few people would have articulated them in this way. The key to understanding the particular character of the prophetic ministry of Jesus is the realization that he was offering answers or guidelines to his people on issues like these. His option to focus on bringing 'Good News' to the poor and the outcast shows his own stance, his own reading of 'the signs of the times'.

Albert Nolan (p. 77) makes the important point that there was a major difference between the 'time' of John the Baptist and the 'time' of Jesus, despite the very short interval in chronological time between the two. John's prophetic mission was to warn of the calamity which was looming over the Jewish people-the imminent danger that a rebellion of the Zealots would be ruthlessly crushed by the Romans and could lead to the utter destruction of the Jewish nation. So John was reading the signs of the times quite rightly when he adopted the role of a prophet of doom.

Jesus, on the other hand, came with a message of 'good news'. Though he agreed with John about the threatening catastrophe, his basic message was that it was not inevitable. For Jesus was convinced that in his 'time', God's forgiveness was a present reality: the reign of God was already breaking the power of the Evil One (e.g. Mt 12:28), captives were being set free, the sick were being healed and those who were blind were recovering their sight. (Lk 4:18; Mt 11:4-5). This means that, with the coming of Jesus, the people of Israel were offered a choice. They could allow themselves to continue in the direction in which they were going, and then the calamity would surely come (as in fact it did, within a generation of the death of Jesus). Alternatively, they could change direction and 'be converted'; in practice this meant welcoming this epoch of grace and forgiveness-and cooperating with God in establishing and spreading a realm of compassion, reconciliation and hope.

Though Jesus was in the prophetic tradition, his followers came to realize that he was so much greater than any of those who went before him that the title 'prophet' was quite inadequate to describe him. In Chapters 4 and 5 of this book I shall spell out in some detail what Jesus stood for and what he achieved. In the present chapter it is sufficient to note that one of the ways in which the New Testament writers understood him is as the Servant of God (Mt 12:18), that is as the New Moses.

Jesus, being a new Moses, stands at the beginning of a new prophetic tradition. When Peter set out to explain to the crowd the extraordinary outpouring of the Spirit that marked the first Christian Pentecost (Acts 2:16-8), he presented it as the fulfillment of two Old Testament prophecies. These were, firstly, the wish of Moses that all God's people could become prophets (Num 11:29); and, secondly, the prophecy of Joel that God's Spirit would be poured out on young and old alike (Jl 2:28-9). The letters of St Paul show that it was quite normal for the early Christians to find themselves inspired by the prophetic Spirit; the purpose of such prophecy was to build up the Church and to give encouragement and consolation to the people (I Cor 14:4; cf I Thess 5:20).

It is clear from the New Testament that the inspiration of the Spirit found expression in a great variety of ways-in visions (Acts 7:55; 16:9), guidance (Acts 21:4; Gal 5:18), boldness (Acts 4:31), wonders (Acts 8:13-8; Rom 15:14; I Cor 12:9), predictions of the future (Acts 11:28; 20:23; 21:11), strange tongues (Acts 19:6: I Cor 12:10; 14:2), as well as an outpouring of enthusiasm (Acts 2:4-13) and the gifts of faith (I Cor 12:3, 9), wisdom, understanding and discernment (I Cor 2:12-3; 12:8,10), healing (I Cor 12:9), comfort and strength (Acts 9:31; Eph 3:16), freedom (Rom 8:15), love, peace, gentleness and patience (Gal 5:22-3), fervour (Rom 12:11), joy (Rom 14:17; Gal 5:22: I Thess 1:6), prayer (Rom 8:26; Eph 6:18), a sense of expectancy and hope (Rom 8:23; 15:13) and a conviction that one is the child of God (Rom 8:14; Gal 4:6).

Many followers of Jesus down to the present day have felt themselves called to continue in his prophetic tradition. The call is one of inspiring the community to build or weave a society that is alive, hopeful, vibrant with energy and that embodies the values of justice, reconciliation and special care for the poor. Playing a prophetic role means, firstly, being inspired by the Spirit with new hope, new energy and a new vision, and then proclaiming and witnessing to and living by that inspiration.

Down through the centuries God raised up many prophetic voices to challenge and disturb the Church and the world, to give comfort to those in desperation, and to bring new life, energy, enthusiasm and hope to Christians and non-Christians. The difference between such outstanding prophetic figures and the rest of us is simply one of degree. For Christians believe that all of us have been given a share in the prophetic ministry of Jesus; so we are all called to be prophets.

If we set out to make a list of Christian prophets, the names of two women spring to mind at once, since their challenge to the authorities of Church and State was so obviously prophetic. They are Joan of Arc and Catherine of Siena. Prior to them came Mary the Mother of Jesus whose Magnificat is perhaps the most outstanding prophetic declaration in the Judeao-Christian tradition. A list of Christian prophetic figures should also include the names of Francis of Assisi, Dominic, Julian of Norwich, Thomas � Becket, Hildegard of Bingen, Teresa of Avila, Ignatius Loyola, Martin Luther, Mary Ward, George Fox, Bartolom� de las Casas, Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. From the nineteenth century many would want to include William Wilberforce, as well as Catherine McAuley, Mary McKinnock and other great founders of religious congregations. Coming to more recent times one thinks of Teilhard de Chardin, Simone Weil, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, John XXIII, Thomas Merton, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Daniel Berigan, Gustavo Gutierrez, Karl Rahner, Helder Camara, Oscar Romero, Samuel Ruiz, Rosemary Reuter, Thomas Berry, Bede Griffiths, Dorothee S�lle, Matthew Fox, Edwina Gateley and Rosemary Haughton.

But why limit the prophets to Church-people and those who speak and act explicitly in the name of Jesus? Christians believe that the Spirit of God also works through secular leaders who may or may not be Christian. Many would see Socrates, Karl Marx, Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Julius Nyerere, Paulo Freire, Betty Frieden, Nelson Mandela, Rigoberta Menchu (of Guatamala), Ken Saro-Wiwa and Aung San Suu Kyi (of Burma) not merely as inspiring leaders but as themselves inspired. There are also many groups (especially of women) such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina-and others whose names and work have been largely forgotten. One could extend almost indefinitely the list of such prophetic figures. Many Irish people, for instance, would think of Daniel O'Connell, Jim Larkin, Patrick Pearse and the Countess Markievicz as prophetic figures; and they would be proud to add the name of President Mary Robinson to their list. People from Britain might think of Robert Bruce, Margaret of Scotland, Thomas More and Florence Nightingale. In the USA, people would think of the 'Founding Fathers' (and 'Mothers'), as well as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Chief Seattle, Sojourner Truth and Rosa Parks.

If we include great leaders of Church and State among the prophets then we can hardly exclude the prophetic people in the various non-Christian religious traditions. The Buddha was undoubtedly a major prophet. Having grown up within the Hindu tradition he helped to deepen it by his emphasis on meditation and the search for enlightenment; and he purged it of those aspects which gave religious approval to a socially unjust caste system.

What of Mohammed? Muslims hail him as the Prophet, the culmination of the prophetic line. Christians should have no difficulty in accepting that God inspired and used him to bring millions of people of his time to a deeper sense of the sovereignty and the mercy of God. In today's world, Mohammed is still a prophetic figure: in many non-Western nations he is the only effective antidote to the over-powering cultural imperialism of the West-and to its religious dominance.

Having come to an understanding of what it meant to be a prophet, the Jewish people looked back on their history and gave the title 'prophet' to Abraham their ancestor (Gen 20:7). But what about the hundreds of generations of men and women who lived prior to Abraham? And what of the peoples all over the world who lived for thousands of years-and some of whom still live today-according to a traditional 'primal' pattern of religion? Scholars have tended to make a sharp contrast between such primal religions and what they called 'the prophetic religions'�namely, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is true that these latter religions are largely built upon the concept of prophetic revelation. Nevertheless, I think it is a typically Western mistake to limit the word 'prophetic' to these three religions; for it suggests that other religious traditions are not really prophetic.

The three so-called 'prophetic religions' all put a lot of emphasis on a verbal revelation from God. But, as we have seen, prophetic inspiration takes different forms, of which a verbal message is just one. In recent centuries, Western scholars have been inclined to value words so highly that they have undervalued the other ways in which God's Spirit touches and moves people. To limit the term 'prophetic religions' to those traditions which stress verbal revelation is to show cultural blindness or insensitivity. To focus unduly on prophetic inspiration in the verbal sphere is to close oneself off from receiving the enormously valuable gifts which come to those who engage in a deep dialogue with non-Western religious traditions.

It is poor theology to think of 'prophecy' solely in terms of a verbal message, distinguishing it from non-verbal inspirations of the Spirit. Those who limit prophecy to words are guilty of a kind of fundamentalism. Furthermore, it would not be very convincing to distinguish between 'prophecy' and 'inspiration' by saying that prophecy always comes from God for the welfare of the community whereas other inspirations may be more private in character. For personal forms of divine inspiration (the ecstatic prayer of Christian and Hindu mystics or the sense of rootedness of the traditional believer) have social and even political implications.

Nowadays it is particularly important that we in the West be open to the primal religions. If we ask only whether the Spirit has given them some particular message which will supplement the

Christian Scriptures, we may not get a very satisfactory answer; and then we may never learn what they have to teach us. For the Spirit seems to inspire them in a more primordial way than through a verbal revelation. The Spirit brings joy and hope to the hearts of traditional believers. It is the Spirit, working in their spirits, who moves them to celebrate and to dance. From the Spirit they receive the gift of deep peace, springing from a strong sense of rootedness in nature and the Earth. The Spirit also gives them a sense of connectedness with their community and their ancestors. We would be foolish to imagine that such gifts of the Spirit are of a lower order than inspirations which can be expressed in words. In fact these non-verbal gifts are ones which we in the West have almost lost and which we badly need to recover.

Once we recognize our loss and our need we will be more willing to acknowledge that the life-giving Spirit of God is at work in a very special way in the traditional religions; and that this primal presence of the Spirit underpins the more differentiated revelation of the Bible. There is a certain irony in the fact that we, who have become so sophisticated in our use of words and our concepts of truth, now need to get in touch once again with realities and experiences that are taken for granted by peoples whom Westerners have labelled 'primitive'. The particular kind of prophetic ministry of which we in the West stand most in need at present is one which puts us once more in touch with our roots in the community and in the Earth. This is what has been grasped by Thomas Berry, Matthew Fox, Mary Daly and Mary Condron�and by other theologians in the ecological and feminist traditions.

In the light of what I have been saying about the presence of the Spirit in the primal religions we can perhaps imagine the gift of prophecy as a great tree with widely spread branches. The named prophets listed above (plus those on the personal list of each of us) can be seen as leaves or shoots of the tree. These prophets do not stand alone. Each is located within a tradition. For instance, Judith and Isaiah spring from the Mosaic tradition, which can be pictured as one of the main branches of the tree. Francis of Assisi and

Teresa of Avila sprout from the Christian tradition (which, of course, also goes back to Moses). Gandhi can be thought of as a shoot sprouting from the Hindu tradition-though he draws inspiration also from the Christian and Muslim traditions.

The point of this image is to suggest that behind all the named prophets lie great traditions which can be pictured as the major branches of the tree of prophecy: the Middle-Eastern tradition, the Greco-Roman tradition, the Slavic, Nordic, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic traditions, the Indian, Chinese and Japanese traditions, the Aboriginal Australian, the Native American and the Pacific and Maori traditions, and so on. These major branches all spring from one great trunk and draw sustenance from the same roots.

The main trunk is the primal religion which supports and is embodied in all the traditions (and ultimately in all the individual named prophets). It is rooted in the religious capacity and longing which is common to all humankind. This deep underlying religious dimension of the human spirit is the point where we are most fully human. But it is also a matrix where the Spirit of God moves very powerfully. Here is where the Spirit intercedes for us and speaks to our spirits 'with sighs too deep for words' (Rom 8:26; 8:16). We share in God's own life by drawing joy, hope, peace, life-energy and inspiration from the Spirit of God. This is the prophetic element which is present in all religions and is available to all peoples-even to the large number of people in our time who have rejected formal religion.

In this chapter I have been using a much broader conception of prophetic inspiration than that which is commonly used. In doing so I have been trying to provide a corrective for the Western tendency to over-value the rational and the verbal while under-valuing everything that cannot easily be verbalized-especially the emotions and experiences of the body. In line with this approach I want now to draw together various strands of what I have been saying by proposing a way of envisaging divine inspiration.

Inspiration is a share in the 'breath' of God, that is, in God's own life, given to us as a free and unpredictable grace. Because it is truly divine it cannot find any single fully adequate articulation or embodiment in our world. But this ineffable reality comes to partial expression in three main spheres of human living:

* The first is the sphere of ideas and truth; so inspiration often comes in the form of a new insight or vision, or as a vivid conviction of some truth, or a deep understanding and wisdom.

* A second sphere in which the movement of the Spirit finds partial expression is that of action; so it comes in the form of commitment, eagerness, zeal, energy, and the power to overcome laziness, wounds, blocks or addictions.

* The third sphere is that of internal and external body movement. By internal movement I mean a wide variety of deep feelings and sensations such as awe, wonder, sorrow, joy, love, trust, fear, strength, fragility, hope; these are experienced consciously but it is important to remember that they are at the same time movements within the body. By external movement I mean, mainly, dance which at its best springs from a flow of graced energy; so the graceful ritual dances of the peoples of Asia and the exuberant dances of Africans can be truly inspired. Under the heading 'external movement' we might also include the bodily endurance which sometimes comes as a grace to keep one going when ordinary human resources have been exhausted. And we might also think here of the para-normal bodily experiences which are sometimes associated with mystical states.

It is a mistake to give a privileged position to any one of these different expressions or manifestations of the inspiration of the Spirit. All are appropriate for different people in different situations; and none are fully adequate or definitive. The one word which comes closest to expressing the core of divine inspiration is the word 'life'. The Spirit's touch brings us the energy of the creative divine life. So we pray with the psalmist: 'Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created; and you will renew the face of the Earth.' (Ps 104:30)

Having looked at the nature of prophecy I want now to examine how prophetic ministry works in practice in society. In line with the image of a tree which I suggested above, we may visualize the prophetic power as producing a seed of new life, a seed which is planted deep in the heart of a person or community. Given the right conditions this hidden seed brings forth new life. It puts out shoots which find cracks in the rigid and oppressive structures of society. The shoots spring up in a way that not only brings new life but also undermines the old framework.

The prophet is one who has a divinely inspired dream of a new earth (cf. Is 65:17-25), one who channels God's life-giving power and energy into dry bones (Ezek 37). Springing from the creative Spirit of God, this new dream and life-energy are powerful and attractive. Those who are open to the Spirit feel called to gather around the prophet and become disciples or followers, sharing to some degree in the new vision and new life. In this way a new movement comes into being. The prophetic Spirit touches the followers at second-hand through the one whom they revere as a prophet. But the followers are also touched directly by the Spirit who works in the deep places of the spirit of every human person (cf. Rom 8:16). So, in describing the prophet we are describing the prophetic part of ourselves.

In what segment of society do such prophetic seeds first stir into new life? That depends on God's free choice. But the most obvious place to look is in the lower strata of society rather than among the rich and the powerful. This is because of God's special care for the poor and the marginalised and because God chooses as special instruments people of low social standing who are generally considered weak or foolish (I Cor 1:26-8). For instance, Jesus came from a despised village and inherited no religious or political power.

What kind of people are most likely to respond to the vision and the call of the prophet? Firstly, there will be a certain number of the poor and the disenfranchised. These are people driven by a burning sense of outrage about the unjust structures of society which leave them poor and with little power. They are the ones who have continued to hope despite all the evidence that hope is futile.

Longing for a different world, they are touched by the vision and the energy of the prophet. They feel they have little to lose by joining in the prophetic movement.

We cannot assume that the prophet's call will be heard by all who are poor. Many may be so broken in spirit or so trapped in a 'culture of silence' that they can scarcely imagine any major change in their condition. Others may resist the prophetic call because the insecurity of their situation leads them to cling cautiously to the little they have, rather than risking all by sharing in the prophet's vision.

The second category of people who are likely to follow the prophet come from the middle or upper classes of society. These are idealists who have become disenchanted with the world as it is. They are motivated by their commitment to justice as well as by compassion for the victims of society. Many of them also feel guilty that they have a privileged position in this unjustly divided world�and fear that they may be colluding in this injustice.

Each of these two groups of followers is essential and has a particular contribution to make to the prophetic movement. Without the poor and marginalised the movement will have no solid grounding; it will have little credibility and will carry no weight. The middle-class followers tend to remain 'up in their heads', lost in words and theorizing. Movements composed of middle-class people often become riven by disputes about the meaning of the prophet's message.

On the other hand, history teaches us that prophetic movements which draw support only from the poor are also likely to founder. The leaders are handicapped by their lack of education, of money, of access to the means of communication�and by being unfamiliar with how 'the system' works. They rarely have the time or inclination to work out coherent policies and to put an efficient organization in place. (The Italian philosopher and political scientist Gramsci emphasised the important role of 'organic intellectuals', that is, people who have the education and training needed for policy-making, planning, and organizing but who have relinquished the privileges of their own class so as to be in organic solidarity with the poor and exploited.)

It is clear that people do not just drift into a prophetic movement; they have to make a definite choice, one which the liberation theologians call 'an option for the poor'. What this involves varies somewhat, depending on whether those making the option are themselves poor or whether they belong to a privileged class or group.

Poor or oppressed people go in one of three basic directions:

* The pressures of life leave many with little choice but to settle for the misery of the present rather than risking the little they have; they have never learned to hope that a new world is possible; so their hearts remain dull and they do not feel called to work for change.

* Some of this group see an opportunity to break out of their poverty in an opportunistic or exploitative way; they choose to clamber upwards by 'walking on' their neighbours�perhaps by becoming criminals or drug-pushers.

* Others, however, receive and accept the grace of choosing to work for liberation, in solidarity with other poor people and with all who are willing to make common cause with them. To choose this third direction is, for them, to make 'an option for the poor'. It is primarily an option for hope, for new life, a choice to recover all that is rich in the traditional life of sharing while working to overcome drudgery, a choice to live out of the joy and strength that they find deep within them and that are experienced as gifts of the Spirit.

On the other hand, middle class Christians (including Church leaders) have to choose between three somewhat different options:

They can actively support or collude in oppression, finding in religion or economics a justification for blaming their victims, and for branding as 'subversion' or 'Marxism' any serious challenge to the prevailing unjust system.

They can compromise, by holding on as far as possible to their privileged position, while opting for 'soft' compassion and 'handouts' or for so-called development programmes which ease the suffering of the poor without empowering them or addressing the causes of poverty.

They can choose to be in genuine solidarity with those who are poor and oppressed, working to change the system even when they know this means relinquishing their privileged position in society. (One thinks of those white South Africans who committed themselves to the struggle for liberation; and of the commitment made by the Conference of Latin American Bishops at Medell�n in 1968.) This 'option for the poor' also involves a re-valuing of the rich human gifts-such as hope, celebration and generous sharing-which are often found more among the poor than in the so-called 'privileged' sectors of society.

Prophets may have little interest in establishing an organization or a structured movement. (For instance, it seems clear that Jesus did not set out to found a 'church' in the sense in which we currently understand that word;{2} nor did Francis of Assisi set out to found a religious order.) But invariably some of those who have followed the prophet and shared in the prophetic dream are people who have organizational ability. These play a key role in translating the prophetic call into a powerful movement for change in society.

Other gifts are also needed if a prophetic movement is to be effective and to endure. Artists and writers emerge to nurture and sustain the members by their creative articulation and enlargement of the original inspiration. Intellectuals such as theologians and lawyers take on the task of shaping, promoting and defending the movement. Local organizers and trainers ensure that the movement takes root in the culture. Some go beyond the existing frontiers of the movement to carry out the 'missionary' task of bringing it to new areas and new spheres of society.

Every prophetic movement is essentially creative and life-giving. The prophetic inspiration which is its life-blood can be seen as a primordial divine energy. It brings new hope into daily living. Among traditional peoples this energy often finds expression in the exuberant body energy of the dance. Among peoples of every culture it is a source of new truth and of moral commitment and authenticity.

Prophetic inspiration can become embodied in society in many different forms-not merely in formal religions but also in laws, literature, art, mass media, celebrations and in whole patterns of living which become traditions passed from one generation to the next.

The prophetic movement represents an enduring call to a different and richer life. But the movement itself is embodied in the existing society like leaven in dough (cf. Mt 13:33). It finds expression in the existing thought-patterns, value systems, laws, media, and arts-but is always stretching them beyond their present limits so that they can 'carry' the new vision and new life that is promised and is already present to some degree in the prophetic movement.

Inevitably, such life-giving movements are opposed to�and are opposed by-the forces in society and in the human heart which promote deceit, moral decadence, lethargy and death. A struggle of some kind is more or less inevitable�and there is no guarantee that the struggle will have a successful outcome. The prophetic movement achieves a victory to the extent that it succeeds in replacing the unjust structures of society or at least in establishing some 'spaces' of liberation or resistance which will give witness to the possibility of an alternative society. On the other hand, the prophetic movement is defeated if it becomes infiltrated and subverted and begins to collude in injustice.

The most common outcome of the struggle is a mixture of success and collusion. Most prophetic movements end up being partly prophetic and partly conformist. This applies to Churches, religions, religious congregations, etc; and as time goes on we must expect that it could also happen in the case of relatively recent humanistic movements such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace and various women's movements.

For this reason it is not sufficient to make a careful social analysis mainstream society and its social, political and cultural institutions. We need also to do a social analysis of the Churches, of religious orders and of other movements which offer an alternative vision and way of life. For, even though these began as prophetic movements, over time they may have lost some of their prophetic edge. We must not be satisfied with generalizations about 'religion', 'the Church', 'the media', 'the legal establishment' or 'the women's movement'. Instead, we need to identify which sectors and which individuals in the Churches, in the legal profession, in the media, and in the various movements are truly prophetic and life-giving and, on the other hand, which have begun to collude with the forces of death and oppression. Those who belong to a prophetic movement need to be accurate in identifying the forces which are opposed to them; and they must know clearly who are their allies in the struggle for a new world.