Cry of the Prophet Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem by Illya Repin 1870
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.
In today’s world, some truth telling happens in social media. Websites and blogs alert readers to facts that might change how or where one shops or what one buys. I read the other day that McDonalds now pays its workers with bank cards that charge a fee when withdrawals are made. Makes me think twice about driving through for a cold drink on my way home. Smart phones helped fuel a revolution. What is or is not truth-telling can be confusing. Some people see leakers like Snowden and Manning as traitors. Others think they told a truth that needed spoken.
But, not all truth-telling is about news making issues. Not all truth telling takes place in a political arena or on a world stage. For most of us, it happens closer to home. Perhaps in a middle school when a student decides to walk away from a clique that ridicules the “geeks” or the ones who don’t make the football team, or the ones who can’t afford (or choose not) to wear the latest fashion and befriend the marginalized instead.
Speaking the truth may be disagreeing with a slur or put down uttered by someone in a casual conversation. It might be having the courage to broach a “taboo” subject with friends or family. It might be speaking up about abuse, or having the courage to stand up for one’s self and leave a relationship that is filled with it. Sometimes, at its most basic, truth telling is simply having the courage to be who we are made to be. Being “true to yourself” is not easy.
To speak the truth assumes someone is listening. To be a Truth Teller is also to be a listener. One who hears the stories of others. One who notices. One who holds. A Truth Teller also must listen deeply to herself. To the Divine Truth given to her that makes her who she is.
Jesus is our example. He listened to the Divine that was part of himself. He knew who he was and remained faithful to that even when it meant betrayal and death. He spoke truth to power when those wielding the power were corrupt or misguided. He also “spoke” truth when he embraced the children who had crawled up into his lap.
We are all called to speak the truth we know not only with words but with our lives. Peace will come. As the pastor of my parish said in his homily, it is inner peace, knowing that we are being who we are made to be. That we are faithful. But that does not guarantee a life free from conflict or suffering. It doesn’t mean everyone will like us and treat us kindly when we stand up for the truth we have been given. Didn’t work that way for Jeremiah. Or for Jesus. But truth-telling is redemptive. It opens hearts, clears out darkness, and brings hope. It opens doors. It changes both the one who speaks and those who hear. Something important to remember when you feel like you are stuck in the mud at the bottom of a cistern.
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