Jer 1:17-19
Reading corresponding to the memorial of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist
In those days, I received this word from the Lord: Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee. Be not afraid at their presence: for I will make thee not to fear their countenance. For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
We all know the courageous testimony John the Baptist gave before the king, making him see that his relationship with Herodias was contrary to God’s will. Herod, who, on the one hand, had a hidden admiration for the prophet, while, on the other hand, rejected his message and was influenced by Herodias, finally had the Baptist killed. Prior to this act, his senses had been intoxicated by the beauty of Herodias’ daughter, and he had made her a fatal promise to fulfil her wish, whatever it might be. We know how the story ended, and we can hear it again in today’s Gospel (cf. Mk 6:17-29). John the Baptist became a witness to the truth, just as Jeremiah had been before him.
Today, truth does not enjoy great prestige in public life… One can hardly find anyone who still dares to pronounce it clearly. On the contrary, it seems that nowadays everything is justified and everything is relativised. Politically correct opinion” has succeeded in silencing practically all clear statements, or labelling them as “too extreme”. And since no one wants to be labelled as extremist or exaggerated, silence is preferred. It is a system that indirectly exerts psychological violence and whose scope of action is growing more and more. It even wants to silence the prophetic voice of the Church, or, at least, to limit it to speak only on those topics that are socially accepted, that are “politically correct” and go with the flow…
Let’s put it concretely: Let’s imagine that a person with a high position in the Church goes to a Catholic politician and tells him that he is not allowed to live with another woman, while his wife, with whom he is legitimately married, is still alive. This person would probably suffer a “media execution”. But would he receive support from the Church, would there be a bishop or two who would take his side? Probably only by very few, if any!
We can see this also with regard to the reception of Holy Communion. In the United States there are some courageous bishops who refuse to give communion to politicians who openly support abortion. But they are very few! They are imitators of the Baptist or a Jeremiah.
It is the same situation of John the Baptist; it is the same reason why he gave his life, bearing witness to the universal validity of God’s commandments! This testimony is still valid today and is for us an example of a fearless defence of the truth. Herod, on the other hand, or others who, like him, did not remain faithful to God’s commandments, are practically a “negative example” of how not to act.
The words we hear in today’s reading, addressed to the prophet Jeremiah and rightly applied to the martyrdom of St John the Baptist, can be taken as an exhortation to be witnesses to the truth. In fact, we Christians do not defend our own truth, but the truth entrusted to us by the One who is Truth itself (cf. Jn 14:6). To serve this truth is a holy duty and the highest honour! It is the “pillar of iron” and the “wall of brass”! Anyone who opposes this truth will sooner or later fall. If we imitate Jeremiah and John the Baptist, holding firmly to the truth, we too will become “pillars of iron” and “walls of brass” against the dominion of lies and deception.
In this context, it is important to keep in mind the Lord’s warning to Jeremiah: “Do not be afraid of their presence”.
That means for us: Do not be afraid of the “spirit of the age”; also when it infiltrates the Church itself, relativising the truth and not wanting to listen to it.
In our time, it is certainly a particular challenge to stand firm in the truth and to resist all the “siren voices”, which want to “reconcile” us with the spirit of the world and thus weaken our Catholic identity. Of course we must not use the truth entrusted to us as if it were a sword with which we could strike blows right and left, following the impulses of our temperament, which is probably not yet fully purified! But, yes, the proclamation of truth is a task we cannot avoid.
The knowledge of the truth entails an inner commitment, which is to listen to this truth and to consciously place oneself at its service. This is what John the Baptist teaches us, as well as many other confessors. For truth is not a private matter; it is not a secret knowledge reserved only for a few “initiates”. We, who by God’s grace were able to encounter this truth, are at its service, just as John the Baptist, the prophet Jeremiah and so many other witnesses, each according to the specific vocation that God directs him.
耶肋米亚先知书 1:17-19
上主的话传给我说：“你要束上腰，起来向犹大各城的人民传述我命令你的一切。在他们面前，你不要畏惧，免得我在他们面前令你畏惧。看啊！我今天使你成为坚城、铜墙、铁壁，以对抗犹大君王和首领，司祭和当地的人民。他们要攻击你，却不能战胜你，因为有我与你同在，协助你。”
我们都知道洗者若翰的勇敢见证，他在王前作了见证，提请王注意他与黑落狄雅的关系是违背天主旨意的！黑落德暗中在崇拜先知與拒绝先知信息之间徘徊。在黑落德的影响下，他受引诱邀將洗者若翰斩首! 在此之前，他受黑落狄雅女儿的美貌迷惑，失去了理智，向她许下了致命的承诺——实现她任意一个愿望! 我们知道最終的結果，在今天的福音书中能夠读到(参，穀6：17-29)! 若翰像耶肋米亞一樣，成為真理的見證者。
今天，公众對真理的需求并不高，几乎没有人敢談論真理，几乎没有人敢清楚地宣講! 更多的是凡事辯解、尋找借口、相对化! 所谓的 “政治正确 “已成功地将所有或部分明确的言论压制下去，或者给它们贴上 “极端 “的标签! 既没有人愿意“极端”，那麼保持沉默好像就是更好的選擇。 这是一种越來越有效的间接的權力運行體系，甚至压制了教会的谏言之声，或者只能在那些被公眾接受的问题上發聲，也就是那些 “合理化 “的问题!
让我们具体化：想象一下，一位教会高級人物去找一位天主教政治家，告誡他不能与第二任妻子生活在一起，因为他的第一任妻子（与他有合法婚姻关系的妻子）还在世！这时，他可能会被 媒體“处决”， 他是否会得到教会支持？也许一兩個主教的支持？如果有的话，可能很少!
那麼，从領受聖體的例子来看。在美国，一些勇敢的主教拒绝公開支持墮胎的政客領聖體。但他們只有少数人，他们是前仆後繼的洗者若翰與耶肋米亞。
洗者若翰為天主诫命的有效性献出了生命的见证! 这个见证今天仍然有效，他是我们的榜样，教我們知道如何毫不畏惧地为真理奮起！ 而黑落德和其他没有忠于天主誡命的人，可以说成為了威慑，让人不知道该如何行事。
今天的聖言，可以看成对先知耶肋米亞的邀请，也是对若翰殉道的邀请。毕竟，基督徒所代表的真理不是我們自己，而是真理本身托付给我们的真理(参，若14,6)! 侍奉真理是神圣的责任及最高的荣誉。
真理是 “銅牆 “和 “鐵壁“! 任何背叛真理的人，都会长期堕落! 作為耶肋米亞與洗者若翰的接班人，只要坚定地立足于真理，也将成为抵御盛行的谎言與欺骗的 “铜墙铁壁 “和 “堅城“!
因此，必须听从天主对耶肋米亞的告诫,“你不要畏惧“.
这对今天的我们来说這意味着不被时代精神吓倒，也不被教会中將真理相對化、不再聽從真理的时代精神吓倒。
对于我们这个时代来说，这是特别的挑战，坚持真理，抵制所有那些想要我们与这个世界的精神“和解”并削弱我们天主教灵魂的诱惑。即使我们不需要把真理当作根据自己的性情(往往还没有净化)瘋狂挥舞的利劍，宣告真理也是一项我们无法逃避的使命。
对真理的認知带来内在的义务，即让人們聽到真理，並為真理留出空间，自觉地为真理服务! 洗者若翰和其他許多殉教者都这样教导我们! 真理不是私人的事，
真理不是少数人发起的私人知识! 因天主的恩寵而被允许認識到真理的人，就是像洗者若翰、耶肋米亞一樣為真理服务的見證者！
對真理的認知會帶來內在的義務，即讓人聽從真理，為真理留出空間，更要有意思地服務於真理！這是洗者若翰以及其他許多宣信者們教導我們的！真理並沒有被拘限在私人領域，不是少數人的私人認知！我們既藉著天主的恩寵認識了真理，就應像洗者若翰及其他見證者那樣，為真理服務！我們每個人都以自己的方式被召叫！