Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
THE WORD JEREMIAD MEANS a doleful denunciation. There was nothing in need of denunciation that Jeremiah didn't denounce. He denounced the king and the clergy. He denounced the rich for exploiting the poor, and he denounced the poor for deserving no better.
He even denounced God for saddling him with the job of trying to reform such a pack of hyenas, degenerates, and ninnies. "You have deceived me," he said, shaking his fist (15:18), and God took it.
They dragged old Jeremiah, kicking and screaming, along with them, to Babylon which seems the final irony: that he, who had fought so long and hard against all forms of idolatry—the Nation as idol, the Temple as idol, the King as idol—should at last have been tucked into their baggage like a kind of
rabbit's foot or charm or as an idol himself.What became of him in Egypt afterwards is not known, but tradition is that his own people finally got so exasperated that they stoned him to death. If that is true, nothing could be less surprising.
-Frederick Buechner
False prophet Hananiah, in our first reading, sets himself up as the alternative to Jeremiah, gaining Hananiah a place of honor in the royal court. False prophets, then and now, have a need to be admired. But true prophets were hemorrhoids to the kings. True prophets held up a mirror for the people and the monarch to see themselves as they really are. False prophets may be preferred. But they are still false.
Who are the false prophets of 2022?
Beware of any proclaimed “chosen ones.” The word “prophet” does have connotations that can distract from the original meaning, for true prophets read the sign of the times. They are not foretellers but forth tellers. “Prophet” often gets lumped in with words like “seer,” “astrologer,” “fortune teller,”
“soothsayer.” Authentic prophets claim none of these.
Not all the phonies are easy to spot. Here's some signs to look out for:
- False prophets amass gold bobbles and shiny objects.
- False prophets confuse patriotism with idolatry.
- False prophets point to politicians as “anointed.”
- False prophets encourage cult-like admiration.
- False prophets mix lies with the truth.
- False prophets are drawn to the corridors of power.
- False prophets ask you to send them money.
- False prophets know who's saved and who’s not.
Yes, there are Jeremiahs in our world today. But Hananiahs are still among us, too.
Be wary.
Timothy J. Cronin