Prophets suffer the harms done to others
The prophets’ great contribution to humanity was the discovery of the evil of indifference…. The prophet is a person who suffers the harms done to others. Wherever a crime is committed, it is as if the prophet were the victim and the prey. The prophet’s angry words cry. The wrath of God is a lamentation. All prophecy is one great exclamation: God is not indifferent to evil! He is always concerned, He is personally affected by what man does to man. He is a God of pathos….
Daily we should take account and ask: What have I done today to alleviate the anguish, to mitigate the evil, to prevent humiliation?
Let there be a grain of prophet in every man!
Our concern must be expressed not symbolically, but literally; not only publicly, but also privately; not only occasionally, but regularly.What we need is the involvement of every one of us as individuals. What we need is restlessness, a constant awareness of the monstrosity of injustice.
— Abraham Joshua Heschel, 1963
Rabbi and theologian
Today’s Invitation
Take account and ask: What have I done today to alleviate the anguish, to mitigate the evil, to prevent humiliation?
This Week’s Query
How do your inward life and your outward actions relate to one another?
Read the source of today’s quote
