A Tale of Two Prophets

Today's first reading (Jeremiah 28:1-17) is a wonderful tale of two prophets: a passage with very important lessons.

One prophet speaks words of encouragement, greatly needed by the people.

The other prophet's response is heartfelt:

Amen! thus may the LORD do!
May he fulfill the things you have prophesied…

He deeply wishes that this happy prophecy of salvation to be true, but...

But now, listen
to what I am about to state in your hearing
and the hearing of all the people.
From of old,
the prophets who were before you and me
prophesied war, woe, and pestilence
against many lands and mighty kingdoms.
But the prophet who prophesies peace
is recognized as truly sent by the LORD
only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.

The first prophet persists, repeating his prophecy with a dramatic flourish.

It would backfire tragically.

Some time after the prophet Hananiah
had broken the yoke
from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
Go tell Hananiah this:
Thus says the LORD:
By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke!
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

A yoke of iron I will place
on the necks of all these nations
serving Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
and they shall serve him;
even the beasts of the field I give him.

To the prophet Hananiah the prophet Jeremiah said:
Hear this, Hananiah!
The LORD has not sent you,
and you have raised false confidence in this people.
For this, says the LORD,
I will dispatch you from the face of the earth;
this very year you shall die,
because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.
That same year, in the seventh month,
Hananiah the prophet died.

All of us want to hear good news, most especially in days such as these when terror and violence seem to be all around us, when immorality rises like a seemingly unstoppable tide, and prosperity seems to be a tenuous or even a fleeting dream.

We want to hear prophecies of peace for ourselves and (in our less charitable moments) of disaster for our enemies.

Perhaps we will have peace. Perhaps all who hate us will fall into the trap they themselves have made.

But perhaps not in our lifetime.

Hananiah "preached rebellion against the LORD" by speaking falsely in the Lord's name and by raising falsely the hopes of the people.

The happy prophecies of Hananiah kept the people from looking at the terrible deficiencies in their relationship with the Lord and from taking the steps they needed to save their lives.

It is would be easy, of course, to associate Hananiah only with today's smiley face preachers, but he is also very like the preachers today who only talk about the wrath of God being visited on their favorite bête noire.

There is nothing wrong with words of peace…

But the prophet who prophesies peace
is recognized as truly sent by the LORD
only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.

Whether there is going to be peace or whether there is going to be still greater trouble, our focus must always be on the Lord, on our relationship with him, and our faithful living out of his truth and love.

There are many voices in this world: many who put themselves forward as prophets and wise thinkers.

Just as we hear in today's Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102), we must always seek and listen for the voice of the Lord.

Lord, teach me your statutes.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Take not the word of truth from my mouth,
for in your ordinances is my hope.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let those turn to me who fear you
and acknowledge your decrees.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let my heart be perfect in your statutes,
that I be not put to shame.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Sinners wait to destroy me,
but I pay heed to your decrees.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.
Lord, teach me your statutes.