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The theme for our reflection is “speak for the voiceless”. A group of people are said to be voiceless if they do not have the power or the legal right to express their opinions or defend themselves. The voiceless are usually the poor and vulnerable or the marginalised in society. Being a believer or a Christian puts us in a position to speak for the voiceless because the God we serve and worship is the God of the voiceless. Proverbs 31:8-9 gives us the indication and instruction to speak for the voiceless and also identify the category of people who are voiceless in our society. “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9). In other words, believers and disciples of Christ have the mandate to actively engage in social justice to ensure the dignity and right of everyone including the poor and needy in our churches and societies are respected and protected.

One of the reasons, Jesus Christ was passionately hated by the Pharisees and Chief Priest was that he represented the voice of the voiceless. Quoting from the prophet Isaiah He said “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19). Dear friend, the Spirit of Christ at work in us is an empowering Spirit which enables us to become the voice of the voiceless. Jesus was the voice of the helpless and voiceless woman who was about to be murdered for the sin of adultery, interestingly, the man she committed adultery with was not mentioned or caught for the purpose of stoning him too. Jesus said to them “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:7-11). We see Jesus as the voice of the voiceless when He angrily drove out traders and money changers who were taking advantage of the people especially the poor and vulnerable people who have travelled from far to Jerusalem to observe the Passover festival, “When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers. Luke 19:45-46. Jesus’ earthly ministry revolved around the salvation of humanity and social justice, thus being the voice of the voiceless. When a rich man invited Him to his house “Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14). Again, being the voice of the voiceless, Jesus spoke truth to power and the ruling class any time He engaged them, it was for this reason when a Pharisee invited Jesus to his house Jesus said to him ““Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. (Luke 11:39-42)”

Beloved in the Lord, is the church and for that matter, Christians in the twenty-first century an active voice of the voiceless or the church is a passive voice of the voiceless? Is the Church able to speak truth to power and champion pro-poor and marginalised legal regimes or policies? The fact is that there are myriads of churches yet only a few occasionally participate in social justice or represent the voiceless. Most Church leaders are hardly heard speaking or fighting the course of the voiceless. Unfortunately, some have become spoke persons of government because of political expediency. Some church leaders, Christians who are politicians and political party members who are Christians are in bed with the very people who impoverish the masses and continue to make the lives of the voiceless unbearable. Upon the coming into power of a new president or a new government, we witness many church leaders rushing to go and congratulate the new president but hardly do we see these same leaders calling the government to order or drawing the attention of those in power to the needs and plights of the voiceless. Regrettably, some men and women of God are rather seen justifying the reckless expenditure and burdensome acts of government on the voiceless thereby becoming the spokespersons of those who have the power to protect the voiceless but fail to do so. Jesus admonishes us that “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16). Beloved in the Lord, let us not be hypocrites but remain faithful to the Lord till the end, for Jesus admonishes that ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) Let us not become evildoers by supporting a system that oppresses the voiceless or marginalises and impoverishes the masses. Like Jesus, let us continue to speak for the voiceless regardless of the opposition we may face. Shalom.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, grant us the courage to speak for the voiceless. Purge the church of hypocrisy and lukewarmness when it comes to the affairs of the voiceless. May we not be passive but active voices of the voiceless in a world of injustice and marginalisation of the poor and vulnerable. Amen.