Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 407/408

The prophet Jeremiah answered the prophet Hananiah 
in the presence of the priests and all the people assembled
in the house of the LORD, and said:
Amen! thus may the LORD do!
May he fulfill the things you have prophesied
by bringing the vessels of the house of the LORD
and all the exiles back from Babylon to this place!
But now, listen to what I am about to state in your hearing

and the hearing of all the people. 

Today's first reading may require some explanation. It concerns a debate between two prophets in Jerusalem. Catholics are given at Baptism the triple anointing of priest, prophet, and king. These are the ministries of Jesus and his disciples are anointed in the same spirit. In ancient Jerusalem, the three offices were exercised by recognized groups: the king and his royal family; the levite priests; and the guild of prophets. Prophets were not always "charismatic;" that is, appearing spontaneously without credentials or official recognition. They might have been chosen by others, been trained, and anointed by other prophets, like the priests and aristocrats who inherited their positions.

In today's reading we hear about a debate between the recognized guild prophet, Hananiah, son of Azur, from Gibeon; and the young upstart, Jeremiah -- who appeared to be self-anointed and self-appointed. (He insisted, and we believe, that God chose him before he was born.) His terrifying prophecies, which came true, proved his legitimacy. And Hananiah, who promised relief and victory to Judah and Jerusalem, was proven false by Nebucchadnezzar, the Babylonian army, and Almighty God. To this day, the word jeremiad describes preaching of gloom and doom. 

Jeremiah had warned 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.

And Jeremiah's particular word to him was proven true: 

That same year, in the seventh month, Hananiah the prophet died.

So what do we Catholics do when we're given confusing signals by leaders of the Church. We hear of bishops and cardinals in Germany who want to honor the oxymoron "gay marriage," and ordain women. We have also witnessed the judgment of excommunication upon several bishops who ordained three new bishops despite Pope Leo's pleas. Politics is sometimes a dirty game, and particularly when it involves leaders of the Church. Some conservative Catholics believe Pope Leo's secret agreement with the Chinese government is a pact with Satan. 

"When eagles fly, sparrows take refuge" -- in prayer. Sometimes, I find, it's better not to think too deeply about what cardinals and bishops are doing; especially when it's time for private prayer or liturgical worship. They'll hammer out their differences in God's time. Prayer is neither conservative nor liberal. Parties like conservative and liberal are given to preconceived notions and inbred suspicion of nuance and disagreesment. 

The rest of us can simply excuse ourselves from that conversation. "Thanks but no thanks." We fix our eyes on the Lord and watch him walk on the storm-tossed waves of human nonsense.