One of the lectionary readings for next Sunday is from the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah, from the 6th century BC. We know more about Jeremiah than about any other of the prophets. He had a loyal scribe called Baruch, which means “blessed”, and it’s possible that we have Baruch to thank that these irreplaceable wisdoms are preserved.
Prophecy was big business in ancient times, vital to kings and rulers -- much as Presidents and Prime Ministers today surround themselves with Advisers, Consultants and Analysts, along with sycophants and nodders. There were competing “schools” of prophets, some of them charlatans... which also has its similarities to our day. Jeremiah however did not fit the popular mould. He told the truth, which was less than career-enhancing, and he more than once found himself in prison, on one occasion thrown into a cesspit… it’s a lively story. Meanwhile the military power of Babylon was rising in the east, more and more threatening to Judah and Jerusalem.
Jeremiah announces:
The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times preached war, famine, and pestilence… As for the prophet who preaches peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet. (28:8-9)
As we frequently have to say by way of reminder, the prophets’ task was not so much to predict the future, as to inform kings and rulers and the people what God required, God’s Word. What does God require of you, said the Prophet Micah, but to do justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly… Here then is Jeremiah calling out the prophets who are advocating war, famine and pestilence… I think we may well say, in our time, those who think conflict is inevitable, who think disputes are resolved by violence, or enjoy violent sport as a celebration of manliness or power… those who think vast social and economic inequities are somehow God’s will, in the nature of things … those who try to tell us that God sends disease or any adversity to punish people… those who believe the end justifies the means, those greedy for power, those who mutilate God’s Word into some divisive prosperity gospel….
Jeremiah says the true prophet speaks God’s shalom, God’s peace and wholeness, restoration and mercy. That prophet is true. And how do we know? When the word of that prophet comes true… he says. It comes true when by love and prayer we begin to see beyond what we imagine are our safety systems, what our ego finds familiar… when we are able to welcome newness, to let the past go, to let others be who they are… when we find we’re not afraid any more, at any rate for ourselves. Richard Rohr calls this emancipation because it is more than the freedoms we normally assume we’re entitled to, freedom of speech, and so on. It is an inner freedom, the company of Christ in the heart. Jeremiah, and Jesus who was a Jew, called it shalom.
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