King Zedekiah was a bit of a “waffler” when it came to Jeremiah. First, he gave the prophet over to those who wanted to put him to death. “He is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city,” they princes told the king. Jeremiah was proclaiming the truth he had heard from God and predicting the fall of Jerusalem. Not welcome news.

After the leaders had lowered Jeremiah into an empty cistern full of mud, a court official came to the king and pleaded for Jeremiah’s life. The king told him to go, get help, and pull Jeremiah up out of the cistern before he died.

Ahh…such is it with truth tellers: Reviled and revered. In and out of favor. Then and now.

To be a truth teller is to risk ridicule, abuse, even death. We have seen in out our own day. Truth tellers like Martin Luther King, Jr and Sr. Dorothy Stang gave their lives for speaking the truth. Countless others who stand up to injustice pay a high price.

Today’s gospel made clear the risk one takes in being a follower of Jesus: “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. ” LK 12, 51. Sounds harsh. Not what we expect. But, when you think about it, when one stands firm in truth, resistance follows. Especially from the powerful. It is rooted in fear.

“It is not power that corrupts but fear,” said Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. “Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

We see fear at work in our society today, working to silence those who speak out against injustice. Who would shine light into dark places we would rather not see. Who give voice and presence to the marginalized among us. One example is the swift and ferocious push back against the passage of the California bill that gives protection to transgender students. Those whose voices protest the loudest are those who are uniformed and filled with fear. [Read more…]