Divine pathos
From the Vicar
During Lent a number of parishioners have taken up the challenge of joining a study group. In this week’s reflection Dr Geoffrey Troughton shares a brief biography of distinguished Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel, and a little bit of his understanding of the role of prophets
The quote that stuck with me was this;
“Heschel’s understanding of the prophets was distinctive. His reading rejected any idea that they were simply communicators of timeless truths and norms, or bearers of certain instructions. Rather, the prophets were primarily transmitters of “divine pathos”; that is, they should be understood above all as mediators of God’s emotion, feeling, and passion… The prophets were attuned to this pathos and expressed it. The prophet, he said, “suffers in himself harms done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair.”
Divine Pathos. What a wonderful phrase. What a holy calling.
I suspect many of you, like me, have shared in that divine pathos as we’ve seen images of Russian bombing, and heard stories of people fleeing, fighting, protesting, or grieving.
Our responses will be varied. Some will find the weight of that pathos too much and need to switch the tv off. Some will desire to seek out more information in an effort to understand, or have more fodder for prayer. Some will simply despair and, taking up words from the Psalms, ask God why there seems such an absence of divine action. All of these are holy and good responses to the abhorrent evil we are presented with. All of these are displays of divine pathos. You are sharing in the emotions of God.
Seek out stories of hope and mercy. Avoid despair. Continue to pray. Donate if you’re able.
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