Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. — Revelation 21:1
Throughout salvation history, there have been prophets and visionaries who have stood at the crossroads of the temporal and the eternal. For these people of faith, their imaginations were not bound to only what mortal eyes could see. Instead, they possessed the God-given ability to peer beyond the now and see the not-yet. They were not mere daydreamers. They reminded us repeatedly throughout the ages of the endless possibilities of human will when touched by the Divine.
These people possessed what Walter Brueggemann calls the “prophetic imagination.” In his classic book, The Prophetic Imagination, Brueggemann gives voice to the role of the prophet in honoring the power of imagination. Brueggemann writes, “The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.” According to the Redeeming God blog, in an article titled “The Prophetic Imagination,” Brueggemann argues that, “the prophet does not contend against such entities with arms and use of force, but armed with a much more powerful weapon — imagination and creativity.”
[Prophets and visionaries] reminded us repeatedly throughout the ages of the endless possibilities of human will when touched by the Divine.
Indeed, we know of the great canon of major and minor biblical prophets. Yet this canon is not complete. The names of many of the great prophets of old have been omitted or erased from the annals of salvation history.
However, the work of the prophetic imagination is not bound to salvation history alone. People in every geographic and cultural context have always labored tirelessly to convince the human heart of a higher ideal and a more prosperous way. Within this context, their names become too numerous to list.
Even within the American context, we have always had prophets who have tried their best to tell the heart of this nation that there is a better way. In the endless quest for justice in this nation, we need not look far to call their names. Helen Barrett Montgomery was a prophet. Walter Rauschenbusch was a prophet. Crispus Attucks and William Carney were prophets. Harriet Tubman and William Still were prophets.
People in every geographic and cultural context have always labored tirelessly to convince the human heart of a higher ideal and a more prosperous way.
Abraham Joshua Heschel and Dorothy Day were prophets. Howard Thurman and Fannie Lou Hamer were prophets. Mamie Till and Mary Church Terrell were prophets. Richard Allen and Medgar Evers were prophets.
These bold vessels of light used their voices and the best of their creative witness to leave this world better than they found it. We find the true power of curiosity and prophetic imagination in them.
Langston Hughes and John the Evangelist
To this list of storied personalities, I add the great American poet, social activist, novelist and playwright Langston Hughes. Hughes was also a prophet of the highest regard. Known to most as one of the most towering and influential figures of the Harlem Renaissance, he put pen to paper and wrote down, for the ages, his prophetic vision of this nation and the world. In his poem, “I Dream a World,” Hughes writes about a bold and inclusive world, which, unfortunately, has not been achieved. Hughes calls this a world where “man, no other man will scorn” and where “all will know sweet freedom’s way.” Hughes says that in the world he dreams of, “greed no longer saps the soul nor avarice blights our day.” In these words, Hughes embodies the prophetic imagination that Brueggemann speaks of, the kind that we all should possess.
This poem, like most of Hughes’s other poems, describes hope for equality and the end of brutal and dehumanizing discrimination against African Americans. Yet Hughes’s vision for a new world is divinely inclusive and global in its reach. Contrary to more modern visions like “Make America Great Again,” you – regardless of who you are and where you come from – are included in Hughes’s vision for a new world and the prosperity it promises.
Hughes’s vision for a new world is divinely inclusive and global in its reach.
Hughes’s vision for the world echoes the life and ministry of another prophet: John.
Hughes wrote his vision for a new world in 1941 while living in Harlem in New York City. The evangelist John wrote his vision for a new world in 96 CE while exiled on the Isle of Patmos.
Both were prophets.
Both were exiled and marginalized.
Both were forced away from the table of prosperity.
Yet both wrote clear and compelling visions of a new world.
Beloved, we, too, need a vision for a new world.
What is curiosity?
For me, curiosity is prophetic. It requires courage. It requires risk. It requires faith. It requires the ability to stand, like the prophets of old, in the tension of the now and not-yet, the known and the unknown, the seen and the unseen, the temporal and the eternal.
Curiosity is not meager mysticism or mere mystery. Curiosity is knowing that what we currently see is not the final product. Curiosity is daring to explore what else might live behind the veil of possibility.
Because of curiosity, the Sistine Chapel was painted. Because of curiosity, the Egyptian pyramids were built. Because of curiosity, the Berlin Wall fell. Because of curiosity, the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott succeeded.
You see, curiosity without agency is like faith without works. Echoing Dietrich Bonhoeffer, it’s “cheap grace” at its best; it’s religion in its worst form.
Our world needs curious people.
Our world needs courageous people.
Our world needs a new generation of prophets.
Our eroding moral fabric
All over the globe, people from every walk of life are searching for the light of hope and a break from the madness of our times. Friends, we are living in morally dangerous times. The ethical fabric of our world is seemingly eroding, and today, we teeter dangerously on the edge of global mayhem.
Millions battle with and suffer from the effects of educational disparity and racial inequality, from economic insecurity and the lack of political diplomacy, from worldly insobriety and disregard for human dignity, from ethical deformity with no reverence for cosmic Divinity, from the absence of morality and prevailing deviation from authenticity and the lack of individual sanctity and the overabundance of vulgarity. These harsh realities are now inevitable and undeniable. The despair felt by so many cannot be ignored. This despair causes us to ask the question posed by Marvin McMickle in the title of his 2006 book, Where Have All the Prophets Gone? Reclaiming Prophetic Preaching in America.
In this age of false news and alternative facts, we need curiosity and the power of the prophetic imagination!
Dreaming together of a new world
This Lent, as we journey through this liturgical season marked by prayer, fasting and self-examination to prepare for the celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter, might we dream of a new world together? Where can our prophetic imagination lead us? If we could truly embody curiosity as a spiritual practice, what could resurrection look like?
We need not live in Harlem nor be exiled on the Isle of Patmos. But in our churches, on the mission field, in boardrooms, in rural communities, in cities and farms, in education, in politics and even right here in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we stand at the intersection of the temporal and the eternal. We must give our best service to make this world what it should be.
… I see a new earth … I see a new nation … I see a new church.
This Lent, let us …
Imagine a world where all members of the Family of God, regardless of race, age, ability, and beliefs live in true peace and harmony.
Where unity among nations overshadows greed and power.
Imagine a nation where the rights & freedoms of all are not dictated or infringed upon based on the color of their skin, sexual orientation, or beliefs.
Imagine a society in which collective prosperity and true societal progress prevail over the selfish material and monetary gains of the 1%.
Imagine a church where the peoples’ opinions and judgments don’t overshadow God’s grace and mercy.
Imagine a place where people come to heal and reconcile without being persecuted and cast down.
Imagine communities where the agenda and needs of the underrepresented, economically oppressed families and broken homes become the sole priority of those who are resourceful and can lend a helping hand.
Like John, I see a new heaven and a new earth. I see a world where love abounds, and grace abides —
I see a world where the hearts of humanity are united in our common pursuit of justice and peace, a world where the beauty of diversity reigns and the voices of all can be heard.
I see a world where the water of life nourishes the dreams and hopes of all, a world where a few people do not build wealth and prosperity on the backs and pain of the masses.
I see a world where everybody is somebody, where all can strive for excellence and joy together.
Not only do I see a new world, but I also see a new nation —
Not one with confederate flags and enraged militants scaling the walls of the United States Capital, but I see a nation where the sins of racism and White supremacy are washed away; a nation where the creeds of this land offer access to all; a nation where children can grow and thrive and achieve the earnest desires of their hearts.
I see a nation not decided by color or class but united by our hopes and dreams; a nation where guns are regulated, like cars — and the rights of a few do not jeopardize the safety and wellbeing of the whole; a nation where the cries of the weak don’t go unanswered and where the voices of all matter.
I see a nation that believes in the divine humanity of every person regardless of race, class, sexual orientation or economic status; a nation where the structure of systemic racism is no more, and everyone is welcome to the feast at the Table of God.
But not only this, I see a new church —
A place of hope and restoration, a refuge for those who seek a better way; a place that preaches the Gospel of peace and love and charges the hands of every believer to build a better world.
I see a place where love is more than a word, and it becomes a way of living life.
I see a place where the hell hounds of Hades are powerless and the gentle breeze of God can be felt; a place where everybody is somebody and we are all striving to be the best we can be; a place where amazing grace is more than a song, it becomes an invitation to come and drink from a fountain that never runs dry.
I see a place where the Great Commission lives in the heart of every single Child of God.
Again I say, as we journey through this liturgical season of Lent, marked by prayer, fasting and self-examination, may we dream together of a new world, new nation and new church. In this age of confusion and combustion, might we allow curiosity and the power of the prophetic imagination to lead us in a new way? With John the Evangelist and Langston Hughes as our guides, where can our prophetic imagination lead us? If we could truly embody curiosity as a spiritual practice, what could Resurrection look like?
For in words sometimes attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo, “Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage: Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.”
Interested in more content on curiosity? See our March 2025 issue.
