outside the court of religious and civic opinion

 

 

 

 

 

The greatest prophet of the Jewish tradition, Moses, 

had the prescience and courage to move the place of hearing God outside

 and at a distance from the court of common religious and civic opinion—

 

this was the original genius that inspired the entire Jewish prophetic tradition.

 It is quite different than mere liberal and conservative positions, 

and often even at odds with them. 

 

Prophecy and Gospel are rooted in a contemplative

 and non-dual way of knowing—

a way of being in the world that is utterly free

 and grounded in the compassion of God.

how we might maintain that same sense of prophetic freedom

 outside the contemporary political and religious “encampments” of our day.

 

 For those of us who are sincerely and devotedly trying to camp elsewhere

 than in any political party or religious denomination, 

we know full well that we must now avoid the temptation

 to become our own defended camp.

it means that we can

 “safeguard that little piece of You, God, in ourselves” 

as Etty Hillesum describes it.

 

 

 

 

~ Richard Rohr

excerpt from his Daily Meditation

 photo by Dorothea Lange