in introspect

I'm still recovering from one of the most intense experiences I've ever been force-fed from God. I'm still dwelling on what a "prophet" must go through, on the inside. I have great sympathy for them, little empathy. Here are some things that Abraham Joshua Heschel writes in his book The Prophets:

- Their words are onslaughts, scuttling illusions of false security, challenging evasions, calling faith to account, questioning prudence and impartiality.

- The prophet was an individual who said No to his society, condemning its habits and assumptions, its complacency, waywardness, and syncretism. He was often compelled to proclaim the very opposite of what his heart expected.

- The prophet is a man who feels fiercly...........Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profane riches of this world. God is raging in the prophet's words.

- This is the secret of the prophet's style: his life and soul are at stake in what he says and in what is going to happen to what he says.

- Prophetic utterance is rarely cryptic, suspended between God and man; it is urging, alarming, forcing onward, as if the words gushed forth from the heart of God, seeking entrance to the heart and mind of man, carrying a summons as well as an involvement. Grandeur, not dignity, is important.

- The prophet is human, yet he employs notes one octave too high for our ears. He experiences moments that defy our understanding. He is neither "a singing saint" nor "a moralizing poet," but an assaulter of the mind.

- The prophet disdains those for whom God's presence is comfort and security; to him it is a challenge, an incessant demand. God is compassion, not compromise; justice, though not inclemency. The prophet's predictions can always be proved wrong by a change in man's conduct, but never the certainty that God is full of compassion.

- None of the prophets seems enamored with being a prophet nor proud of his attainment.........To be a prophet is both a distinction and an affliction. The mission he performs is distasteful to him and repugnant to others; no reward is promised him and no reward could temper its bitterness. .... He is stigmatized as a madman by his contemporaries, and, by some modern scholars, as abnormal.

- The words of the prophet are stern, sour, stinging. But behind his austerity is love and compassion for mankind.......The prominent theme is exhortation, not mere prediction.

Very interesting stuff. I know this is taken from a Jewish perspective, but it nonetheless gives us an accurate look at the inner workings of the prophet's mind. I couldn't imagine living as this, day in and day out, 24/7, without a break. It seems too much. I'm stopping writing now cause I may say too much. I can't put this to rest easily. It's grasping my leg, refusing to let go. It's surreal, how one experience can..............(something)?