RIGHTEOUS LEADER - C: 1st Sun of Advent

First Reading: Jer 33:14-16 (28 November 2021)

“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land (Jer 33:15).”

The message of Jer 33:14-16 is straightforward based on the number of occurrences of some words. Particularly, we encounter the terms “righteousness” (vv. 15, 16), “righteous” (v. 15), and “justice” (v. 15) that have synonymous meanings. Most notably, God is labelled by the prophet as the embodiment of this virtue: “The Lord is our righteousness” (v. 16). From this righteous God, a so-called branch is prophesied to spring forth to be the executor of justice. He would also represent David, the exalted king of the house of Israel and Judah (v. 14).

The Hebrew word used in Jeremiah is tzedaqah which has two major components in its biblical usage. First, it denotes “loyalty to the community, in conduct, honesty” (cf. HALOT). In the life of David, this is illustrated well in his words to King Saul who was plotting to kill him: “The Lord rewards everyone for his righteousness (tzedaqah) and his faithfulness; for the Lord gave you into my hand today, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed (1 Sam 26:23). This statement concerns the rivalry between Saul and David on who would be the people’s king between them. Yet, the Israelites appeared to favor David because of his heroics, with women lauding him as follows: “Saul has slain his thousands, David his tens of thousands” (1 Sam 18:7). From here on, Saul conducted multiple attempts to kill David by throwing a spear to him several times (1 Sam 18:10-16; 19:10), sending him to fight the Philistines (1 Sam 18:17-30), and chasing him with Saul’s royal army that made David a public fugitive (1 Sam 18−28).

Despite Saul’s intense desire of killing him, David was never vindictive. This attitude of being just but at the same time kind and compassionate made him truly a righteous king.

Second, tzedaqah refers to justice, i.e., “it includes the elimination of anything breaking peace and the preservation of good order” (cf. HALOT). David, the purported author of the Psalms, uttered a prayer to God in view of the elevation of his son Solomon to the throne, saying: “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness (tzedaqah) to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness (tzedaqah) and our poor with justice.” Clearly, David equated righteousness with justice, and it is the thing he longed for his son to put to heart as the future king of the land. For David, a true leader should fight for the oppressed, the poor, and the abandoned in the society. In fact, he continued his prayer with the words: “May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor” (v. 4).

When we hear the name David, the first things that come to our mind are his victories over the Philistines (2 Sam 8:1-14) especially over Goliath (1 Sam 17:1-54), his unification of all the tribes of Israel that centralized governance in the capital city of Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:1-5), and his management skills in bringing prosperity to the land (2 Sam 24:1-9) that made his reign the so-called Golden Years of Israel.

Conversely, Jeremiah underscored his righteousness instead that is rooted in his virtues of loyalty, honesty, good conduct, justice, peace, and compassion.

In view of the Philippine 2022 national elections, let us imitate Jeremiah’s approach in judging a true leader, i.e., based on a candidate’s ability to promote justice especially for the poor and to exemplify honesty, good conduct, and compassion. Let us not be blinded by propaganda that measure greatness by pseudo-narratives of economic successes and so-called Golden Years of the past. A true great leader must be God’s very image by reflecting righteousness at all times.

- Rex Fortes, CM