These words by the Prophet Isaiah has been the starting-point of many a Christian sermon over the centuries.
But how often did it come to the mind of the preacher – of us, the preachers – at what cost these words were once spoken? Or, rather: at which costs the divine office of prophecy itself was exercised? Of the Old Testament prophets we know from strong tradition as well as from New Testament testimony that they were all killed. Later John the Baptist was killed for the words he spoke; and so was Jesus Christ; so were likewise innumerable Christian martyrs. And so were many men and women who just spoke words of truth and righteousness in front of those in High Places, the mighty ones of this world – those who are well capable of killing the body but not the spirit.
And so was Socrates, on the indictment and pretext of having “seduced the youth”.
Today, in Moscow, a prophet of our own time was buried, having been killed by those who are capable of killing the body but not the spirit, by the henchmen of today's Herods and Caligulas.
We tend to take values like freedom of speech, human dignity, the right to demand righteousness and honesty etc. for granted. It is absolutely nothing wrong about enjoying chatting, small-talk and easy-going or even rather superficial discussions on various matters. But in the end, we ought to bear in mind that the words that really matter, the words “that shall not return to me void”, always come at a cost. They cost the Herods and Caligulas the pain of being hurt on their most vulnerable spot.
And, most importantly, they more often than not cost their speakers their lives.