The audacity of prophetic responsibility

George Orwell once said that, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Right now, we are living in difficult times where truth has become scarce commodity in virtually all spheres of life. From politics to economics, to religion and society, lies, betrayals, falsehood, and cowardice have become regular currency. […]

George Orwell once said that, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Right now, we are living in difficult times where truth has become scarce commodity in virtually all spheres of life. From politics to economics, to religion and society, lies, betrayals, falsehood, and cowardice have become regular currency. This reflection, inspired by Jeremiah 38:4-13 offers great encouragement to anyone who undertakes the difficult and challenging ministry of prophecy in a morally depraved and socially backward environment. The text tells the story of the Prophet Jeremiah whom God entrusted with the task of proclaiming a hard message that goes against the wishes of the king of Israel and his princes and army leaders. On account of the nature of his prophetic ministry, Jeremiah suffered untold hardships and persecution, but in the end God vindicated him.
In 587 BC, the army of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem. It was a desperate situation. There was hunger, starvation and misery in Jerusalem, which led to a harvest of deaths. The military chiefs insisted on continuing the war. King Zedekiah did not have the courage to disagree with his army generals. The prophet Jeremiah emerged in the midst of this crisis. He is a lone voice. Where others were afraid to speak, he braced the odds and told the leaders of the nation that continuing the war was a useless venture. The honourable thing to do would be to surrender, to forestall further depletion of human lives. This proposal infuriated the army generals, who would have wanted the war to continue in order to preserve their ego, and perhaps to sustain the flow of funds for ammunition needed to prosecute the war.
They went to King Zedekiah and reported Jeremiah. They accused him of discouraging the soldiers: “Let this Jeremiah be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” King Zedekiah washed his hands off. He plainly told the army generals: Jeremiah is in your hands. Do with him whatever you wish. I cannot go against your decisions. The army chiefs took hold of Jeremiah, and in order to silence him, threw him into a cistern. The intention was to let him die slowly, without food and without water.
At this point, one imagines that Jeremiah would have felt disappointed, abandoned, defeated and dejected. But there are no indications that he allowed himself to drink from the bitter chalice of anger and hate. Perhaps he could have been saying to himself: “Could I not have kept quiet and allowed them to do whatever they wanted? Why did I speak out? Am I the only prophet in Jerusalem?” His traducers would have said to him: “You think you are the only one who can speak out, right? Now see what is happening to you!” But Jeremiah believed in God and God raised a courageous man who stood up for him. Ebed-Melech saw the injustice perpetrated against Jeremiah and could not keep silence. Although a foreigner, an Ethiopian working in the king’s palace, he went to the king and spoke boldly to him: “My Lord the King, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern; and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” That is courage!
Ebed-Melech was not a sycophant. He was not blind to justice. If he were a political sycophant, he should have said to the king: “Your Excellency, you have done very well. Kill that man. He has been disturbing us. Is he the only prophet in Jerusalem? Besides, what knowledge does he have of political affairs or military matters?” That is the attitude of those politicians who often tell religious leaders to mind their business and avoid talking about politics as though politics has been excised from human affairs. The more politically savvy ministers would have advised the king to give Jeremiah a bribe so as to keep him quiet. “Your Excellency, just give him something. It is hunger that is making him talk like this” But Ebed-Melech did not adopt any of these political tactics.
Like Jeremiah, he had the courage to speak truth to power. We can imagine what the compatriots of Ebed-Melech would have said to him: “Gentleman, don’t forget that we are foreigners here in Jerusalem. Don’t come and cause trouble for us. Are you the only servant of the king who can talk? How much did Jeremiah pay you to fight his cause?” In those days, kings were reputed to have the power of life and death. If the king said you would live, no one could oppose his decision. If the king said you would die, no one can stand in the way. So, many would have advised Ebed-Melech not to dare to confront the king.However, he teaches us to have the courage to stand up against the powers that be. Thankfully, King Zedekiah listened to him, and ordered the release of the Prophet Jeremiah.
What happened to Jeremiah is not an isolated event. It does happen, perhaps, everyday in the society in which we live. When you dare to stand up for what is right, many people rise up to persecute you, including people within your household, your friends and colleagues. Sometimes, you receive death threats. They try to blackmail you and say all sorts of nasty things against you. If you are too vocal, you may end up losing your life. How many people have died in our society that we are unable to account for? Too many! How many people have become victims in the political chessboard of bitter power struggles? Too many! If you dare to stand for what is right in your office, if you are incorruptible, if you refuse to accept bribe or easy money, they try to sideline you. Sometimes, they rope you into a conspiracy and you’re dismissed from work. Marginalisation, contempt, and calumny seem to be the lot of those who have taken on the battle for moral sanity in our society. The reason is that your incorruptible stance challenges their way of life. So they try to get rid of you.
Speaking truth to power in a morally depraved and corrupt environment, where many people are after their mouths and pockets, is a very risky venture, but the Lord does not abandon his own.Though evil and evildoers may seem to have a good day, the Lord’s power ultimately triumphs.In the Beatitudes, Jesus issues a proclamation of blessing on those who endure hardships, persecutions, tribulations and all kinds of calumny for the sake of his Name: “Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven” (Mt 5:11). We need faith in God and courage to stand up for what is right. The Psalmist says that, “Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion that cannot be shaken” (Ps. 125:1). The Prophet Isaiah says that, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar like with wings of eagles. They will walk and never grow weary; they will run and never grow tired” (Is. 40:31).
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ojeifo is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Abuja.