PITFALL OF WITNESSES - C: 20th Sun in OrdTime

First Reading: Jer. 38:4-6, 8-10

“So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud” (Jer. 38:6).

In our first reading today, Jeremiah was punished by the authorities by throwing him into an empty cistern that was filled with mud. This happened as a result of his witnessing to the truth, which was actually God’s very message to him. In particular, he proclaimed the bitter truth that “those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war, and live” (v. 2). For Jeremiah, it was crystal clear that Jerusalem would fall to the Babylonians; and the easy way out to survive is by surrendering to the enemies. This proposal, however, was taken badly by the king’s officials, declaring to the king,

“This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm” (v. 4).

The king’s court had a valid point in arresting Jeremiah lest he continues to break the hearts of the citizens of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, though patriotism and bravery are commendable virtues, there is such a thing called “reality check,” which, in the prophet’s context, honestly assessed their chances of victory. Discovering that the possibility of triumph is nil, he delivered the bitter news to his people: it is better to surrender to the enemies in order to preserve the present and next generations of Israel. His witnessing to the truth was taken negatively by the authorities, leading to his damnation into a cistern. Fortunately, however, a royal eunuch by the name of Ebed-melech intervened, asking that Jeremiah be salvaged from death. His reason to the king that convinced the latter was: “My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah….” (v. 9). Identifying that those who called for the prophet’s imprisonment are evil, Ebed-melech managed to save the prophet and led him to safety.

The word “cistern” is a translation of the original Hebrew word bor, that literally means “cistern” or “pitfall,” but may allegorically refer to the “world of the dead” (e.g., Isa 14:15; Ezek 32:23) or “a separate grave” (e.g., Psa 28:17) (cf. HALOT). In this sense, to be thrown into a bor connotes, too, the sentencing of someone to death. Such was Jeremiah’s experience which parallels the persecution of Joseph by his brothers who “took him and threw him into a pit (bor)” (Gen 37:24). These stories can be also juxtaposed to the predicament of Daniel, who was also “thrown into the lion’s pit (lakkos, the Greek equivalent of bor)” (Dan 6:17). These three biblical characters, viz., Jeremiah, Joseph, and Daniel, have several things in common: they all witnessed to the truth by proclaiming it openly; they were all dreamers/visionaries; they were all pious and virtuous; and they were all persecuted by their supposed protectors.

Sadly, societies even today continue to oppress fact finders, whistle blowers, honest journalists, and advocates of the truth. They suffer for standing for truth and promoting the best interest of the populace.

May we value their efforts by opposing measures and machinations that further suppress their search for and publication of the truth. May we stand always for truth!

- Rex Fortes, CM