Today’s Old Testament reading (Jeremiah 26:1‑9) is in an historical or biographical form. Some believe these passages may come from the prophet Baruch. It tells of Jeremiah’s discourse to the people warning them about disasters that will come unless they change their ways. His message will not be well received by the priests and people.
The scene takes place at the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah (609-608 BC). Jeremiah is told by Yahweh to go to the temple court and speak to all those who had come from the surrounding countryside to worship. He is to say exactly what Yahweh has told him. Through his prophet, Yahweh promises that, if the people listen to Jeremiah and change their ways, he will not bring disaster upon them.
The Lord’s warning comes in the clearest language. If each person listens and turns back from their evil ways, the Lord may repent of the “disaster” he planned to inflict on them. On the other hand, if they will not observe the Law and listen to the words of his prophet, the Temple will end up like Shiloh, and the city of Jerusalem will become a curse word among the nations of the earth.
Not surprisingly, this message did not go down well with those who heard it. The priests and prophets seized Jeremiah and threatened him with death. The phrase they used described the ultimate penalty for those who seriously violated the law of Moses. The ‘prophets here are those false prophets who gave upbeat prophecies putting unrealistic hopes in the people’s minds and glossing over their wrongdoings.
All were horrified and enraged at the suggestion that the Temple should become like Shiloh, a shrine destroyed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:10-11) and scoffed at the city becoming deserted. How could God allow such a thing to happen?
But it would, and very soon. It would happen again about 40 years after the death of Jesus – never to recover. St. Augustine had similar feelings when he saw Rome (for him the center of the world and its civilization) fall to the ‘barbarian’ invaders.
Once again, we see the dangerous vocation of the prophet. He is blessed with special insight, and he can see where the behavior of people will lead them. He gives warnings but they fall on deaf ears. Even worse, they are rejected, and the prophet is seen as someone to be gotten rid of as an enemy. Even so, the prophet has no option but to continue speaking out.
What makes the matter more complex is that there will be confusion between true and false prophets and often the beguiling messages of the latter will be the ones listened to. Careful discernment is needed to distinguish the genuine prophet from those who either lull us into complacency or, on the other hand, tell us that “the end of the world is nigh”.
Our Gospel reading for today (Matthew 13:54‑58) follows the discourse on the parables of the Kingdom. We see Jesus going to his hometown of Nazareth. As was his right, Jesus spent some time teaching in the synagogue. The townspeople were amazed to hear the local carpenter’s son speaking as he did. His family was well known to the people, and they knew he could not have gotten such wisdom from them. They failed to apprehend the real origin of what he was saying and doing.
As so frequently happens, the locals were so impressed that they rejected him! He was just too much for them. A perfect example of familiarity breeding contempt and blinding the people’s eyes to the obvious. Jesus sadly comments that a prophet can get a hearing everywhere except among his own. Probably all of us have had some experience, directly or indirectly, of this!
It might be helpful for us to see how often and where we ourselves have been guilty of this sort of behavior. How often have we written off what people we know very well, or think we know very well, are telling us? It is important for us to realize that God can communicate with us through anyone, and we must never decide in advance who his spokespersons will be.
Finally, we are told that Jesus could not do in Nazareth any of the wonderful things he had done elsewhere “because of [the people’s] unbelief”. His hands were tied. Jesus can only help those who are ready to be helped, those who are open to him.
How open am I?
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!