Traitor! That becomes the cry of an idolatrous state as it condemns critics living within its boundaries. Traitor! Your love for the state is found wanting. Traitor! You should thank the state for all it has done for you! It has given you a place to live. It makes sure you are socialized with a proper education. It defends you from evil, from those who would do you harm, both those who would defy the laws of the land as well as all foreign enemies. Traitor! Your words threaten the welfare of the state: be silent! Traitor! Why will you not be silent? Why do you continue to criticize the state? That does it. You are its enemy! Traitor! Your life is forfeit. We will decide what will become of you! Traitor, why didn’t you listen to us? You have pushed and pushed too much. It’s your fault that you have to die!
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not.[1]
From the time they came into the world, the prophets criticized injustice wherever it was found. They became the voice by which the needs of the poor, the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the foreigner, were made known. God’s compassion, God’s love, requires people to be treated justly. The prophets felt God’s anger when Israel failed to meet God’s standards. They spoke out. The criticized the powers that be. “The fact that filled the prophets with dismay was not the absence of adequate laws, but the absence of righteousness. Judges were active in the land, but their judgments were devoid of righteousness. The prophets were shocked not only by the acts of injustice on the part of scoundrels but also by the perversion of justice on the part of the notables.”[2] For what they said, they were hated. For what they said, they were persecuted. For what they said, they were killed.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not.
The poor were often mistreated by Israel, and this made God angry. His heart is with the poor. He made this fact known when He elected Israel out of all the nations of the world and freed them from the bondage of Egypt: He is the God of the poor, the needy, the dispossessed. Prophet after prophet were sent by God to remind Israel of this fact. Prophet after prophet spoke to the leaders of Israel concerning the demands of God’s law for the land (mishpat). Prophet after prophet pointed out God’s solidarity with the poor. Prophet after prophet pointed out that God’s covenant with Israel required the just treatment of all living in the land of Israel, especially the poor, the orphan, the widow. “The older prophecy sets the just treatment of the poor, who are incapable of enforcing their own right and establishing it, in the verse centre of God’s conventional requirements. In the face of the injustices done to him, the ‘poor’ becomes simply the one who is ‘innocent’ (Amos 5.12), and that is ‘right’ becomes straightforwardly what is ‘good’ (5.14-15); once again, mishpat and sedaka appear jointly (5.7, 24; 6:12).“[3] Indeed, as Balthasar points out, God’s solidarity with the poor is so central to God’s actions in the world that the prophets understood His relationship with all of the nations of the world was related to it. “God is in solidarity with the poorest. And in the oracles against the pagan people, who do not know this legal ordering, God truly defends ‘natural law’: he sends his fire, because they have crushed men under threshing sledges, deported whole peoples, handed then over, persecuted them, ripped open pregnant women, etc.“[4] It was a far greater scandal for Israel, for Jerusalem, to follow what was wrong with the world, because they, and not the other nations, had been given a special covenant with God, one which reflected upon the fact that they were that poor, needy people whom God stood up for and defended in their time of need.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not.
The damning criticism of the prophets to the rulers of Israel could only be seen as an act of treachery. They were traitors to be persecuted, imprisoned, or killed, because they criticized the state. The world was a dangerous place, and Israel, at the crossroads of the Middle East, needed to make alliances, alliances which would help defend Israel. Egypt, with her might, and with her history with the peoples of Israel, was an ideal ally. Not so, said the prophets! Look not to the might of Egypt, but to the God of Israel. Choose who it is you will follow. One will lead you to ruin, the other to beatitude. Choose![5] The rulers of Israel were placed into office to serve the Lord by serving their people. They were called to work for the common good. And yet, they didn’t do so. “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Every one loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them” (Isaiah 1:23). The prophets told those suffering under such unrighteous rulers not to fear; God remains with them, working for them and their benefit. His judgment upon the nation of Israel was coming. “Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them” (Ezek. 34:10). God was patient; He tried to encourage Israel’s leaders to change, to follow the covenant given to them. “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:16-17). But there was a limit to His patience. The oppressed needed aid. If Israel would not listen to God, God promised that He would respond. “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts” (Mal 3:5). Sadly, the warning was ignored, and the prophets were despised. Indeed, Israel claimed they were false prophets. What else could they be but traitors, seeking to undermine Israel’s rightful authorities who were put in charge by God Himself? We know what the powers that be had to do, for they did as they always do, they undermined the authority of the prophets, the just demands of God, by political ploys; they did what they could to silence the prophets, up to, and including, killing them.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not.
John the Baptist, the crowning achievement of the prophets, followed their example, and proclaimed the solidarity of God with the poor, the needy, and the dispossessed. He told the rulers of Israel to repent because the kingdom of God was coming and would put to question all the kingdoms of men. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, Herod, the Romans – despite how much they were in conflict with one another, were united in a common debate precluded upon common beliefs. Together, they formed the power structure of their day. John, by going out into the desert, living a simple life outside of the domain of civilization, radically rejected that power; free from it, he was free to unleash one of the most devastating critiques of Israeli society that had ever been given. He demanded metanoia, a change of mind. Everyone was called to task. He told those who asked what he was telling them to do to contemplate God’s justice and to act according to its dictates. “And the multitudes asked him, ‘What then shall we do?’ And he answered them, ‘He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’ Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than is appointed you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages’” (Luke 3:10 – 14). One didn’t have to follow John into the desert and become an ascetic like him; one only had to follow God, to be just, to put justice ahead of all other obligations. John’s call for justice, in the corrupt society of his time, was revolutionary; if the people of Israel followed it, the effects on the land would be far greater than armed revolution, and Herod and his friends knew it. A transformation of the nation of Israel from the inside would make Herod’s way of life impossible; he would either have to change and become just himself, or his authority would be put in question. His people, whom he normally could rule either by bribe or by force, would be out of his control. The whole system of government was put into question by the Baptist. John was a traitor to the state; he had to be dealt with!
Herod tried to silence John by having him placed in prison. “For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; because he had married her. For John said to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly” (Mark 6:17 -20). That didn’t work. John’s disciples made sure John’s message would still be heard. Herod was afraid of what would happen if he had John killed. He thought the best thing was to keep John locked away from the world, and hope John would be forgotten. But he would not be allowed to do this. Evil, when brought out in the light, hates what is shown. It wants to have that light snuffed out, so that it can go back in the darkness, hidden from human perception, where it is strongest and most capable of soiling the world. “But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.’ And the king was sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given; he sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus” (Matthew 14:6-12). Corrupted by power, Herod had come to take whatever it is he wanted, to live in the realm of desire, and to meet that desire head on. And so he was tricked and done in by that desire, and it led him to have the Baptist killed, showing once again the truth of Jesus’ words:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not.
But as the killers of the prophets of old found out, the Word of God would not be silenced. The death of John the Baptist, like the prophets before him, only made his voice that much more powerful. “The murder of the Forerunner is one of the most heinous misdeeds and most terrible crimes known by the world, which is drowning in crimes. But this crime exposes the whole impotence of evil, for the greatest triumph of good is accomplished precisely in this crime. Is there a greater triumph for the Forerunner than the fact that torment unto death could not bend him? Was his voice stilled? “[6] No; the Baptist, as the Forerunner of Christ, was to find his murder, as with the murder of any of the Lord’s righteous, was the means of his glorification; and indeed, the word which was spoken in him was not killed, but lived on. The words of the prophets continue on, even to this day, calling for all of us to live a life in metanoia, in repentance; they continue to tell us to follow God’s justice in a world of sin. Christians are called to be God’s own, to speak up for God, to speak truth to power. Righteousness demands justice, not just for the rich, but for all, and most of all, for the poor, the powerless, the dispossessed; the preferential option of the poor, which was given to Israel, has been transfered to the Church.[7] And we should not be surprised if, following the dictates of love, those in power will react; they will see us as a challenge to be overcome. They might try many ways to do so; they might try to corrupt us, promising us a reward for silence; they might try to instill fear in us, hoping we will be too afraid to speak. But we must not heed them. Even if they call us a traitor, we must stand up for what is right. If they threaten us, even if they threaten to kill us, we must not heed their demands; we must not let our voice by silenced. Heed God, and stay with Him to the end, for, as Jesus said, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:12).
Footnotes
[1] Matthew 23:27; :Luke 13:34.
[2] Abraham J. Heschel. The Prophets (New York: Perennial Classics, 2001), 258.
[3] Hans Urs von Balthasar. The Glory of the Lord VI: Theology of the Old Covenant. trans. Brian McNeil and Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991), 170.
[4] Ibid., 238.
[5] “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. And he took one of the seed royal and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. (The chief men of the land he had taken away, that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and that by keeping his covenant it might stand.) But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can a man escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape? As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape” (Ezek 17:12-18).
[6] Sergius Bulgakov. The Friend of the Bridegroom. Trans. Boris Jakim (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 2003), 119.
[7] “Here I would like to indicate one of them: the option or love of preference for the poor. This is an option, or a special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness. It affects the life of each Christian inasmuch as he or she seeks to imitate the life of Christ, but it applies equally to our social responsibilities and hence to our manner of living, and to the logical decisions to be made concerning the ownership and use of goods,” Pope John Paul II. Sollicitudo rei socialis. Vatican Translation (Vatican: 1987), # 42.
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