Word to the Wise
Friday, March 27, 2009 - Friday in the Fourth Week of Lent
[Wisdom 2:1A, 12-22 and John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30]The wicked said among themselves, "Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the Lord. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways.......
We have a term for individuals who have the courage to report wrong-doing at official levels: "whistle blower!" On one level, there is admiration for individuals who do this and on another, there is punishment. Every once in awhile, a congressional hearing into some form or other of corruption will feature a "whistle blower" who made the report that got the investigation going. We learn that they are almost always subjected to punishment for their objections or questions about official behavior in jobs or public office, etc.etc. Some call them "tattle tales" or "disgruntled employees" or worse! When the "whistle blowing" is against a broad category such as a nation and its policies, such individuals may have their "patriotism" questioned or be called "traitors." At one time, we actually had legislation known as the Alien and Sedition Acts which directly forbade criticism of national policy in public! We can see some of this psychology in the contemporary reaction to Jesus! The early Christian community recognized this reaction in the Book of Wisdom and applied it to Jesus' life! They saw him as "the just one" who called his contemporaries to task for their attitudes and behavior and was punished for doing so. What one can see in Jesus' life is a determined integrity of purpose. He did not hesitate to "tell it like it is" and let the chips fall where they may. He was equally compassionate to the sinner and the suffering. The Book of Wisdom reminds us that persons of integrity are going to suffer for it because others of less integrity will be threatened and may respond violently when a person of integrity speaks out! "Whistle-blowers" may have many motives for their actions, and some of these motives may be less than honorable, but that cannot be presumed. Integrity requires a protest against dishonesty and corruption. A Christian faith adds the dimension of prophetic speech in acting with integrity. We have Jesus and the prophets as examples to guide us. Fear of punishment can mean the spread of evil. AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
70 ms
4
