“When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.” “From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Convert, for the Community of God is at hand.”
John the Baptist has been a conscientious public witness, telling the truth about the ruler Herod. Like all rulers, Herod arrests the truth and those who tell it. He will tell lies about John and justify killing him. Jesus of Nazareth knows that if he too challenges rule and lives by conscience giving witness to truth, rulers will tell lies about him and will arrest and kill him too. Christ Jesus of Nazareth lives by conscience anyway. So too Christ Paval of Belarus lives by conscience when he participates in “unsanctioned meetings,” that challenge that nation’s rulers who arrest the truth and him. Christ Hu of China lives by conscience when he challenges rulers on state violence who arrest the truth and him, telling lies about his “subversion of the state.” Christ Mahsa and Christ Masih of Iran live by conscience when they face death in the streets and are lied about and arrested not only because of hijab rules but because of a regime of rule. Christ Junaid of Pakistan lives by conscience when he challenges blasphemy laws set and kept by founders and current rulers of Islam who tell lies about him, arresting the truth and him. Christ Darya of Russia lives by conscience when she challenges the invasion of Ukraine by Russia’s rulers who tell all manner of lies, arresting the truth and her. Christ John of the U.S. lives by conscience when he exposes the war crime of waterboarding al-Qaeda suspects by rulers who tell so many lies, arresting the truth and him. These truthtellers, and so many others, have all been made criminals though it is the rulers who run the criminal enterprise. The long and global history of rulers criminally arresting the truth and those who tell it includes U.S. rulers. Some rulers are currently telling lies about U.S. history, elections, assemblies, and more. They communicate hate and claim constitutional protection. They also promote ‘boutique’ woke culture. Boutique woke advocates can be less substantial and more fashionable in choosing and articulating trends, for example, college campus language clashes. A claim of being denied freedom of expression and academic freedom is not best responded to by using the ruling class’ weapon of censorship. A more substantial claim is that education and civilization are being arrested by the corporate wealth class having long ago taken into custody college Board members, endowed Chairs, Department curriculums, and course content. Disagreement, dissent, thinking itself, nurture conscience but conscience is rarely nurtured by conservativism nor by its liberal wing when it too takes the truth into custody by censorship or when it ‘moderates content.’ A recent example is Professor Erika López Prater of Hamline University. Her Art History syllabus indicated the religious figures to be artistically depicted, allowed students to be absent on those days, and was fired for Islamophobia when she showed Muslim artists’ depictions of the War Lord Muhammad. Muslim reactions to such depictions in other countries have included the arrest, torture, and death of people like Prof Lopez Prater. The professor is being made a criminal, but she is attempting conscience. Conscience challenges rulers by witnessing goodness that changes their system, not by moderating content for fear of the truth. The truth is the history of the U.S. is systemic racism and thus rulers criminalize teaching history (23 states passing 47 restrictive bills). The truth is Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 and 2020 and thus GOP rulers tell lies about voter fraud (26 states with 120 fabricated election-related crimes). The truth is police too instigate rioting and thus rulers criminalize peaceful assembly (36 restriction laws, 58 pending). Rulers shape repressive societies where they arrest the truth and those who tell it. People of conscience, create courageous communities where they witness the truth.
“I was made, by the law, a criminal, not because of what I had done, but because of what I stood for, because of what I thought, because of my conscience… If I had my time over, I would do the same again. So would any person who dares call themself a human being.” (Nelson Mandela)
Prayer: Convert, for the Community of Truth is at hand.
Question: When do I give conscientious witness to the truth?
January 22, 2023 Gospel Matthew 4:12-23 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time