Speaking Truth to Power

It is not easy to speak the truth to power or to be safe when doing so. History has recorded the stories of brave individuals who confronted power and were punished.

The prophet Elijah of the ninth century BCE spoke out against Israeli King Ahad’s oppressive policies both domestically and internationally and his treatment of the poor and defenseless. A price was put on Elijah’s head, and he was forced to escape to the desert.

The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah lived in the seventh century BCE under King Josiah. He called out the social injustices of his time and described the religious reforms of the day as repetitious pageantry, largely external, and not the genuine ethical conduct he felt God was calling the nation to make. Jeremiah was scoffed at, rejected, condemned by his people, and eventually stoned.

John the Baptizer criticized King Herod’s lifestyle; he was imprisoned and beheaded.

Jesus of Nazareth spoke out against the religious leaders of his day and was crucified.

Paul the Apostle spoke truth to the religious practices of that Roman era.  He was beheaded.

It is not easy to speak the truth to power.

Dr. Martin Luther King dared to confront racial inequities in America during the 1950’s and 60’s. He was harassed by the FBI, imprisoned and eventually assassinated.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and Lutheran pastor, spoke out against the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer recognized that many in his church were unwilling to speak against the rise of the totalitarian leadership of Hitler and his gang. He resolved to speak gospel truth to Hitler’s genocidal persecution of the Jews.  He was imprisoned for one and a half years, and then, five months before WWII ended, put to death. 

There is a price for speaking God’s truth to evil and wrong.

When Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde delivered her sermon during last Tuesday’s National Cathedral prayer service, she continued in the line of others who dared to speak the truth to power. She reminded President Trump that during his inaugural address, he said he felt called and destined by God to lead the nation of the United States at this time. She reminded President Trump, in the light of his promised policies, of what her God, and hopefully, his God, and the God of a whole line of Hebrew and Christian prophets required of their leaders and the nation. In the Hebrew prophet Micah's words, “He has shown you, O Mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” This angered President Trump. He called her a nasty person and asked for an apology. Others of the President’s group suggested she be deported, although she is an American citizen.  She has become the victim of hate mail.

Speaking truth to power is not for the timid.

It can become easier and more effective when multiple voices across political and religious lines speak the same truth. Kudos to Senators Bernie Sanders, Susan Collins, Mike Rounds, Liz Chaney and others who expressed disagreement with the President’s pardoning of those fifteen hundred rioters who attacked and, in one case, killed a police officer. Kudos to Pamela Hemphill, who refused to accept her pardon from imprisonment as a demonstrator on January 6, 2020. “We were wrong that day we broke the law.” She stated that it would be an insult to those victims hurt and killed to accept innocence now.

 This is her personal cost to demonstrating truth to power.

Kudos to Michael Bloomberg, who announced his philanthropic foundation will cover the financial contribution the US will not pay after President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. The truth is our environment is in jeopardy due to carbon emissions. Our responsibility, as nations, particularly those of us who pollute most heavily, is to save our planet for our children and grandchildren.

Kudos to church leaders Pope Francis, and Archbishop Broglio, who said, “Our prayer is one of hope that, as a Nation blessed with many gifts, our actions demonstrate a genuine care for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers, including the unborn, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and migrants and refugees. The just Judge expects nothing less.”

Kudos to all who write letters to their senators and congresspeople, encouraging them to act in the Christian spirit of justice, mercy and humility.

When truth is spoken, as costly as it might be, a light is shone. “And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.”Speaking Truth to Power