Soliloquys

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11)
This is our introduction to John the Baptist, the last prophet before Yeshua. His message; repentance and calling out social iniquity. John was killed by King Herod, his cousin Yeshua would be later killed by Pontius Pilate and the Pharisees.
Yeshua from a historical and non–theological lens, was killed for one reason – the ruling powers of the time viewed him as a political threat. Activism and opposition to social injustices has always been a political act.
His social activism was enough to reverberate in the corridors of power and cause the people to rethink the status quo. Some of his followers (Peter for example) were one word away from picking a sword and spilling blood in the name of the revolution.
The Sermon on the Mount and The Beatitudes are hypercritical of governmental structures that enrich the wealthy and disenfranchise the poor and working-classpeople.
Many of the early followers of Yeshua spread his message of social equity and were even willing to die as they brought socio-political change. This continued throughout history with Martin Luther challenging the power of the Catholic Church (the political power of that age) and other luminaries calling out colonial, segregationist and apartheid laws, policies, and rulers.
One must pause and reflect on the history of Africa and the African Diaspora when it comes to emancipation and social justice. Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X and Desmond Tutu led the revolution from pulpits. I’d encourage the reader to listen to or peruse MLK’s speech, “The Role of the Church in Facing the Nation’s Chief Moral Dilemma” (1957).
Social Justice was the core message that the Black Church carried, and Dr King was martyred for his talk about socialism, not his talk about desegregation.
Which is completely unsurprising because both Islam and Christianity are forces of social change. We are not remiss then as a people facing societal injustices in Swaziland to ask, “Where are our Swazi pastors and prophets? Where is the Swazi church and clergy?”.
Historically, churches open their doors to the downtrodden and oppressed; preachers speak Truth to Power from the pulpit, the church was a refuge for the marginalised members of society.
The silence is deafening and, dare I say, a sign of complicity.