John and Nelson

This morning I wanted to pay an all too brief look at two men, two prophetic activists. One called John and the other Nelson.

In our reading we heard the words of John the Baptist, strong words, real fire and brimstone preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

His message was so strong that people listened, religious leaders came to hear him speak, others walked long distances to witness his ministry. His arrival marked the end of a 400 year prophetic silence and he wasn’t afraid to make enemies.

During Nelson Mandela’s defence at his trial in 1964, instead of responding to the charges, Mandela chose to make speech that was to electrify the courtroom, South Africa and the world.

It ended with the words: "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities."

"It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

At the end of that trial, Mr Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment and he was taken from public view for some 27 years. It became an offence to speak his words, to display his picture, yet those words spoken then, became the manifesto for the anti-apartheid movement. I had the great privilege of visiting the Apartheid museum when I was working in South Africa, I watched the speech on a screen surrounded by the visible evidence of the horrors of oppression and hate, and I was deeply moved by this great man’s dignity and strength, even when facing a potential death sentence.

John the Baptist similarly spoke what he knew in his heart to be true. He must also have been aware of the danger his words and actions would put him in, yet he faced down the oppressors and those who were abusing their powers and thus abusing the people given in to their care. Yet he spoke the words that needed to be spoken to them whilst also baptising those who repented and looked to him for guidance and leadership.

These two men separated in history by time, yet whose names we know today and I believe we will know many years from now. Men who not only spoke up for what they believed was right but also dedicated their lives to changing the world and people around them, no matter what the ultimate cost would be to them.

Today we remember the prophetic lives of John the Baptist and Nelson Mandela, and not only should we remember them but we should remind ourselves of their call to us to use our freedom to change ourselves and the world around us, remembering in the words of Mr Mandela, that “to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others”.