Prophets and Tyrants

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to speak truth to the powerful modern day tyrants that act with a self interest that threatens the life and liberty of others.

Prophets and Tyrants

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us to morality and service that is well-pleasing to God.

* [13:1–16] After recommendations on social and moral matters (Heb 13:1–6), the letter turns to doctrinal issues. The fact that the original leaders are dead should not cause the recipients of this letter to lose their faith (Heb 13:7), for Christ still lives and he remains always the same (Heb 13:8). They must not rely for their personal sanctification on regulations concerning foods (Heb 13:9), nor should they entertain the notion that Judaism and Christianity can be intermingled (Heb 13:10; cf. notes on Gal 2:11–14; 2:15–21). As Jesus died separated from his own people, so must the Christian community remain apart from the religious doctrines of Judaism (Heb 13:11–14). Christ must be the heart and center of the community (Heb 13:15–16). (Hebrews, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 27 is a triumphant Song of Confidence.

* [Psalm 27] Tradition has handed down the two sections of the Psalm (Ps 27:1–6; 7–14) as one Psalm, though each part could be understood as complete in itself. Asserting boundless hope that God will bring rescue (Ps 27:1–3), the psalmist longs for the presence of God in the Temple, protection from all enemies (Ps 27:4–6). In part B there is a clear shift in tone (Ps 27:7–12); the climax of the poem comes with “I believe” (Ps 27:13), echoing “I trust” (Ps 27:3). (Psalms, PSALM 27 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Mark presents the Death of John the Baptist.

* [6:17–29] Similarities are to be noted between Mark’s account of the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist in this pericope, and that of the passion of Jesus (Mk 15:1–47). Herod and Pilate, each in turn, acknowledges the holiness of life of one over whom he unjustly exercises the power of condemnation and death (Mk 6:26–27; 15:9–10, 14–15). The hatred of Herodias toward John parallels that of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus. After the deaths of John and of Jesus, well-disposed persons request the bodies of the victims of Herod and of Pilate in turn to give them respectful burial (Mk 6:29; 15:45–46).

* [6:19] Herodias: see note on Mt 14:3. (Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Maureen McCann Waldron comments that Herod had ignored the part of his heart that John was able to touch - the truth about his life.

We all have those nagging prophets in our lives, people who want to confront us with a truth we don't want to hear; people whose words put a gnawing in our stomachs as we redouble our efforts to ignore them; or sometimes simply messages we simply don't want to listen to. Why can't they just leave us alone to live our lives? Why do they keep pushing at us about justice, hunger, living simply, drinking less? Who are the prophets in our lives who tell us it isn't enough to go to Church on Sundays if we are not cherishing our vows and our spouses? How much do we want to ignore those who suggest we need a balance in our family lives or the person who tells us that our jobs should not be the center of our lives? What are the prophetic messages we are not listening to?

Today's gospel isn't about Herod - it's about ourselves. Who stands at the edge of our lives, pushing, nagging and confronting us with a truth we don't want to hear? What is the invitation for us today? (McCann Waldron, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The Weakness of the Tyrant and the Power of the Beheaded,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"Note well the weakness of the tyrant compared to the power of the one in prison. Herod was not strong enough to silence his own tongue. Having opened it, he opened up countless other mouths in its place and with its help. As for John, he immediately inspired fear in Herod after his murder - for fear was disturbing Herod's conscience to such an extent that he believed John had been raised from the dead and was performing miracles (Mark 6:14-16)! In our own day and through all future time, throughout all the world, John continues to refute Herod, both through himself and through others. For each person repeatedly reading this Gospel says: 'It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip your brother' (Mark 6:18). And even apart from reading the Gospel, in assemblies and meetings at home or in the market, in every place... even to the very ends of the earth, you will hear this voice and see that righteous man even now still crying out, resounding loudly, reproving the evil of the tyrant. He will never be silenced nor the reproof at all weakened by the passing of time." (excerpt from ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 22.8-9) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Hebrews 13:1-8 comments that today’s passage reminds us that we—whether in prison or not—are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We belong to one another, and together we make up the body of Christ. So let’s consider how we can deepen our understanding of how we are all one in Christ and then put it into action.

If you’re “on the outside,” let these simple exercises deepen your compassion for your incarcerated brothers and sisters. Set some time aside to pray especially for them. And if you’re “on the inside,” pray for those on the inside with you. Look into connecting with organizations like Kairos, which foster a deep and life-changing encounter with Jesus. Let’s all “be mindful of prisoners,” because we are all one family!

“Lord, mold my heart to have greater compassion for my brothers and sisters living behind bars.” (Meditation on Hebrews 13:1-8, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the things we need to live a life of virtue in trust and faith that are cited in the parenesis at the end of Hebrews. The greater reality beyond what can be seen is evidenced in the martyrdom of John the Baptist. Friar Jude mentions several locations of the “head of the Baptist” relic that remind us to take some claims with a grain of salt.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces author and podcaster Cassidy Hall who suggests that we might use the word “queer” to describe the strange, out-of-the-box ways of thinking and acting that characterized many of the prophets.

Thomas Merton wrote that in order to know or understand the will of the Divine, “we have to participate, in some manner, in the vision of the prophets: [people] who were always alive to the divine light concealed in the opacity of things and events, and who sometimes saw glimpses of that light where other [people] saw nothing but ordinary happenings.” [1] 

Where, I wonder, are the ordinary happenings I am passing over for the sake of my own comfort, ease, or control? We need not only look to the margins—the outcasts of society—but we also look to those who make us uncomfortable, those we might be avoiding, and the issues we might rather opt out of, because when we queer prophecy, we release a need to know or name and instead engage more closely with prophetic values and Spirit’s movement in our midst. (Rohr, n.d.)

We ponder the consequences of living to the standards in the parenesis of Hebrews and seek the power of the Spirit as we come into confrontation with the tyrants of our time.

References

Hebrews, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved February 7, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/13?1 

Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved February 7, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?14 

McCann Waldron, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/020725.html 

Meditation on Hebrews 13:1-8. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved February 7, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/02/07/1196985/ 

Psalms, PSALM 27 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved February 7, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/27?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Look to the Margins. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved February 7, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/look-to-the-margins/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Herod's Guilty Conscience. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved February 7, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=feb7 

Protection and Blessing

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our mission as prophet and leader and our example of fullness of life in living the Beatitudes.

True Colour Blessings

In the reading from the First Book of Kings, Elijah Predicts a Drought.

* [17:1] This verse introduces the enigmatic figure of Elijah the Tishbite. (The name “Elijah” means “the Lord is my God.” The meaning of “Tishbite” is unknown; it may refer to a place or to a social class.) His appearance before Ahab is abrupt and involves several matters that will unify the whole Elijah story. His claim to “serve the Lord” (lit., to “stand before the Lord”) points forward to 19:13, where he refuses to do so; the center of narrative tension on this level is the question of the prophet’s autonomy in God’s service. His proclamation of a drought points forward to 18:41–45 where he announces the drought’s end; the center of narrative tension on this level is the struggle between the Lord and the Canaanite fertility god Baal for the loyalties of Israel. His claim that the drought is due to his own word of power (“except at my word”) points forward to 17:24 where the widow acknowledges the divine source of the word Elijah speaks; the center of narrative tension on this level is the gradual characterization of the prophet as one who receives a divine word (vv. 2, 8), obeys it (v. 5), conveys an effective divine word of threat (v. 1) or promise (vv. 14, 16), and even speaks an effective human word of entreaty to God (vv. 20, 22). (1 Kings, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 121 offers assurance of God’s Protection.

* [Psalm 121] A blessing given to someone embarking on a dangerous journey whether a soldier going on a campaign or a pilgrim returning home from the Temple. People look anxiously at the wooded hills. Will God protect them on their journey (Ps 121:1)? The speaker declares that God is not confined to a place or a time (Ps 121:2), that every step is guarded (Ps 121:3–4); night and day (Ps 121:5–6) God watches over their every movement (Ps 121:7–8). (Psalms, PSALM 121 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with The Beatitudes.

* [5:3–12] The form Blessed are (is) occurs frequently in the Old Testament in the Wisdom literature and in the psalms. Although modified by Matthew, the first, second, fourth, and ninth beatitudes have Lucan parallels (Mt 5:3 // Lk 6:20; Mt 5:4 // Lk 6:21b; Mt 5:6 // Lk 6:21a; Mt 5:11–12 // Lk 5:22–23). The others were added by the evangelist and are probably his own composition. A few manuscripts, Western and Alexandrian, and many versions and patristic quotations give the second and third beatitudes in inverted order.

* [5:3] The poor in spirit: in the Old Testament, the poor (’anāwîm) are those who are without material possessions and whose confidence is in God (see Is 61:1; Zep 2:3; in the NAB the word is translated lowly and humble, respectively, in those texts). Matthew added in spirit in order either to indicate that only the devout poor were meant or to extend the beatitude to all, of whatever social rank, who recognized their complete dependence on God. The same phrase poor in spirit is found in the Qumran literature (1QM 14:7).

* [5:4] Cf. Is 61:2, “(The Lord has sent me)…to comfort all who mourn.” They will be comforted: here the passive is a “theological passive” equivalent to the active “God will comfort them”; so also in Mt 5:6, 7.

* [5:5] Cf. Ps 37:11, “…the meek shall possess the land.” In the psalm “the land” means the land of Palestine; here it means the kingdom.

* [5:6] For righteousness: a Matthean addition. For the meaning of righteousness here, see note on Mt 3:14–15.

* [5:8] Cf. Ps 24:4. Only one “whose heart is clean” can take part in the temple worship. To be with God in the temple is described in Ps 42:3 as “beholding his face,” but here the promise to the clean of heart is that they will see God not in the temple but in the coming kingdom.

* [5:10] Righteousness here, as usually in Matthew, means conduct in conformity with God’s will.

* [5:12] The prophets who were before you: the disciples of Jesus stand in the line of the persecuted prophets of Israel. Some would see the expression as indicating also that Matthew considered all Christian disciples as prophets. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

Tamora Whitney comments that, in the beatitudes, we are told that this suffering will not last forever. We are told that we will have a reward. And we are told that we are already blessed.

I’m an English teacher, so I pay attention to verb tenses. Every statement starts with “Blessed are” – that’s present tense. That’s right now. We are blessed right now, already. We don’t have to wait for that. The poor in spirit are blessed and the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Now.  Present tense.  Who are the poor in spirit? What does that mean? It’s those who are humble, who know that they need God, and who are open to him. It’s not the rulers, not the rich, not the smug; it’s the ordinary folks who are struggling, and who are trying their best. (Whitney, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Perfect blessedness is humility of spirit,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).

"'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' The Lord taught by way of example that the glory of human ambition must be left behind when he said, 'The Lord your God shall you adore and him only shall you serve' (Matthew 4:10). And when he announced through the prophets that he would choose a people humble and in awe of his words [Isaiah 66:2], he introduced the perfect Beatitude as humility of spirit. Therefore he defines those who are inspired as people aware that they are in possession of the heavenly kingdom... Nothing belongs to anyone as being properly one's own, but all have the same things by the gift of a single parent. They have been given the first things needed to come into life and have been supplied with the means to use them." (excerpt from commentary ON MATTHEW 4.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 5:1-12 comments that this Beatitude teaches us that each one of us can be a peacemaker. Yes, we do that by working to end conflicts. But there’s another way we can bring peace into our world. By being at peace and maintaining our peace, we can actually help the people around us find peace as well.

The Hebrew word that’s often used in the Bible for peace, shalom, conveys a sense of safety, soundness, health, perfection, or completion. And ultimately, Jesus, the “Prince of Peace,” is the only One who can bring us this kind of peace.

Just think, you can be a peacemaker! Your attitude is contagious, and you can be a force for good for everyone around you.

“Lord, give me your peace—the peace that passes all understanding—so that I can bring that peace to others.” (Meditation on Matthew 5:1-12, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the mission of Elijah against the adoration of Baal and how his mission involves attention to “as the sin so the punishment”. The Beatitudes in Matthew and more spiritual than the more material and more like the Jewish Covenant formula of blessings and curses in Luke. Friar Jude reminds us that the counter intuitive Beatitudes outline the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces author and filmmaker Cassidy Hall who describes coming to embrace her queerness as a path to intimacy with her true self.

Everyone carries their own true self in their own way, in their own words, and in their own time. And that is also beautifully queer. My true self is the queer way I rest my ear to the chest of a tree, listening for its heartbeat. My true self is the part of me that shows up at the Indiana statehouse when anti-trans bills are brought to the table, knowing the privilege of my own position as a cis queer white woman and the roles I am called to in communal care. My true self is the part of me that keeps asking questions, stays curious about my own blossoming, and holds myself—and the world—with open hands…. As we unclench our fists, shedding internalized norms and expectations, we step toward everything alive, toward everything wild, toward the truth of who we are. (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to accept how our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader will be lived out as “Beatitude People” in gratitude for our being blessed.

References

Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 10, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?1 

Meditation on Matthew 5:1-12. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 10, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/06/10/993614/ 

1 Kings, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 10, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/17?1 

Psalms, PSALM 121 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 10, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/121?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Allowing Ourselves to Unfold. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved June 10, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/allowing-ourselves-to-unfold/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Rejoice and Be Glad, for Your Reward Is Great in Heaven. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 10, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jun10 

Whitney, T. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved June 10, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/061024.html