Bible
Study: Jeremiah 26, 11 to 16 and 24. Matthew 14, 1 to 12.
In both our first reading and our
Gospel passage this morning, we come across the same story of how the Man of
God is made to face death for speaking the truth. Jeremiah and John the Baptist
had something in common; they were not afraid of the establishment, they were
not afraid of people.
Jeremiah was young and he had to
speak the truth to an assembly of priests and prophets who definitely were far ahead
of him in age, wisdom and experience. John the Baptist was probably in his thirties
and he faced Herod, the king, to tell him it was not lawful for him to take his
brother’s wife and be living in an adulterous manner. While Jeremiah was lucky
to have escaped death, John the Baptist was not so lucky.
When we compare the content of much
our preaching today to those of Jeremiah and John the Baptist, it becomes clear
that either we are afraid of death or we know longer hear from God. Prophesying
is not the same thing as motivational speech. There is an aspect of prophecy
that clearly brings discomfort to its listeners. Something that they hear and
it gets to their spirit in a way that really makes them want to change their
life.
Preaching truth is not easy. Any one
determined to take this path must be prepared for death. And this persecution surprisingly
does not always come from unbelievers (outsiders to the faith). Yes, once in a
while we have cases like that which occurred in France recently when two
nineteen year olds killed an eighty six year old priest inside the Church in
the name of “isis”.
But then, the truth is that much of
the time, and always, the real persecution comes from within; from the very
persons who should know better, who should be holier or closer to God. This is
the scandal we see in the case of Jeremiah. While the prophets and priests
sentenced him to death, the princes and the ordinary people were the ones who
came to Jeremiah’s defence saying he does not deserve to die.
Again, there are people who feel that
by their wealth or by their position, they have power over the moral codes that
hold society together. They so disregard the constitution of the land, they sin
so boldly and so loudly that people begin to wonder if “black” has suddenly become
“white”. And because of their money, they feel no one can talk to them or should
talk to them.
I once heard of a very high ranking
political officer who was accused of stealing the country’s money and when he
was to go before the Code of Conduct Bureau, he went with twenty-four SANs. That
is, he went with twenty-four lawyers who had attained the highest ranking as
lawyers in the nation known as Senior Advocate of Nigeria. And to hire just one
SAN, you need to pay him or her over a million naira. Now, this high ranking
officer went with twenty four of such lawyers as his defence spokesmen. “What other
evidence is needed to prove him guilty?” I wondered to myself. “Was he supposed
to be rich enough to hire so many of such high ranking lawyers?”
In our society today, there are too
many Herods who believe they can do anything, take any woman or man they want, tell
any lie; steal any amount they so wish; and no body, not even the Supreme Court
can stop them. They have placed themselves so high and they control the nation’s
wealth, they pad the budget by placing fake projects for which fake companies
are paid huge sums of money but the so-called projects never see the light of
day. These Herods have devised clever means of being on top in every aspect. They
no longer wait for John the Baptist to tell them the truth, they flood John the
Baptist’s account so much money that all he does is to sing their praises, and
mobilise his church members to vote massively for them. Some of them now order
for masses to be held in their private offices just the way people order for
pizza.
We recently saw how a certain John
the Baptist in this country used his prayer ground to campaign for a certain
President Elect after a prior visit from his wife with large “Ghana-Must-Go” bags.
But now, we no longer hear from this John the Baptist. He has suffered a
different kind of persecution or death so to say. Not the shedding of his blood
but the shedding of ability to say the truth; the death of his effectiveness in
bringing about spiritual and moral growth in this country. He is alive but his
lips are dead. Even if he speaks, it is as if no one can hear.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, if saying the
truth means death for me, teach me to die properly. Amen.
Good
morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless
you. Happy weekend.
Fr. Abu.
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