Prophets and the Royal Consciousness

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Our Advent readings teem with references to the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. We are mostly attentive to the writings of Isaiah especially Chapters 40 and 61. Isaiah is considered the “greatest of the prophets” (New American Bible [NAB] p. 824) who received his call in the temple of Jerusalem described in Isaiah, Chapter 6 “to be the ambassador of the Most High” and which is detailed beautifully in that excerpt. Isaiah endures several wars and disappointments which are worth reading about but eventually his arguments and pleas for a just society, a community of caring believers, are poetically written and preserved for one major reason: the emphasis that One God is the Holy One of Israel and “this God will deliver Jerusalem should she place her trust in God.” Scholars who studied Isaiah have written that we must believe that “Prophecy was, and still is, the Word of God.” (Jerome Biblical Commentary [JBC] p. 237) Most scholars also attest that Isaiah is the greatest prophet to speak out against the spiritual crisis of the time which was greater than the threat of physical destruction of the nation. Isaiah rebukes the greed, hypocrisy, and injustices against the poor more than any other prophet.

The late theologian Walter Brueggemann created a type of taxonomy in his book, The Prophetic Imagination, of how prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures can be applied to our spiritual lives today. It is particularly appropriate to reflect on during Advent. A simplified version goes like this:  1. In the Prophetic Call, prophets speak truth to power. In Jesus’ time, Jewish leaders made the law a tool to protect their own economic and political power at the expense of the poor.”  (David L. Johnston, Walter Brueggemann’s Prophetic Imagination, Conference paper) 2. From the cries of lament, we see “a cry for freedom against enslavement.” (Johnston) 3. The prophetic call is a vision for a new kingdom and a future led by Jesus” (Johnston) 4. Those who follow the prophetic call see a God who is not the God of the empire or the comfortable. 

“The Prophetic Call”—to which all Christians are called—is challenged by the “Royal Consciousness” says Brueggemann. A simplified version of The Royal Consciousness is that it represents those who enjoy power of any kind. Not all leaders in power exemplify the ‘royal consciousness’ but those who do mostly have a weak sense of compassion. They have a deep propensity for self-justification and self-preservation. To put it mildly, they are greedy and given to hypocrisy. They are in all levels of government and commerce. (Johnston) 

Reflection

The question I ask myself is which of the two social realities am I part of? Am I part of the Royal Consciousness or part of the Prophetic Call? Scripture theologian, F. Bruce Vawter, CM, says that prophets are “highly individualistic thinkers” (JBC p. 227) through which the Word of God was given. While there were ‘cult’ prophets found in Egypt and Assyria and other countries, they mostly curried favor with leaders telling them and the people what they wanted to hear but the gravitas of the religious prophets carried a different kind of influence. “The authority with which they spoke came, in other words, from their individual serene confidence of having the mind of Yahweh.” (JBC p. 228) The real prophet cares only about leading others to recognize, depend upon, and follow the one, true God, the Yahweh who will send the Messiah. Very importantly, the mind of Yahweh is focused on the disenfranchised and we are called to minister to them.

It seems that our world is divided today into those of the ‘royal consciousness’ and those of the ‘prophetic imagination.’  I am often inspired by ordinary people I would classify as prophetic who are bringing hope and comfort to others. These are people who run our local food banks, who administer shelter for the homeless and provide medical care to addicted street people, for example. I think of journalists like Lawrence O’Donnell (CNN) who, with UNICEF, has organized ‘desks for kids’ to provide desks for schools in Africa, or Nicholas Kristoff who reports on the suffering around the world for The New York Times [NYT] and who organized the Holiday Impact Prize which this year will give $1.15 million to four selected charities not very well known. (NYT, November 23, 2025, p.3) These charities challenge the ‘royal consciousness’ which has terminated sources of much-needed assistance in recent government cuts. They are the ‘prophetic imagination’ in action.

I am also heartened by some political leaders demonstrating more of the ‘prophetic imagination.’  For instance, the Indiana Republican State Senator who stood up to the President for using a slur, which demeans mentally challenged people, against another leader. The Indiana State Senator is the father of a child with such a disability. Or the Muslim United States congresswoman, or the Black attorney general of New York, or the countless women victimized in the Epstein case, and their supporters, who have to defend their actions simply because they are a different race or gender and were or are unseen and disrespected. Finally, the American Catholic Bishops have moved off circle to challenge the treatment of refugees and immigrants. Pope Leo has stirred their silence into action because he is a man of the ‘prophetic imagination.’

I do not ordinarily encourage binary thinking on any issue, but some issues are not theoretical, they are solidly sinful at their base: The inhumane treatment of others, the killing of innocent people, the refusal to apply the justice of the law, etc. These require prophetic imagination and courageous action. All of us who follow the Child born in Bethlehem thousands of years ago, the Child who grew into our Savior, are called to be prophets. We are called to “sing it on the mountain,” “proclaim it to captives,” “share it with great joy.” 

So, the question to reflect on in these remaining days of Advent is: “Am I part of the ‘royal consciousness’ or am I one who lives the ‘prophetic imagination?’ 

I am praying that all my readers and Anonymous Angels experience an Advent of Grace.