Reading 1
Jer 28:1-17
In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,
in the fifth month of the fourth year,
the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon,
said to me in the house of the LORD
in the presence of the priests and all the people:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
Within two years I will restore to this place
all the vessels of the temple of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, took away from this place to Babylon.
And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah,
son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the LORD,
‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
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.
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.
Thereupon the prophet Hananiah took the yoke
from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it,
and said in the presence of all the people:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Even so, within two years
I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
from off the neck of all the nations.’”
At that, the prophet Jeremiah went away.
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.
Gospel
Mt 14:13-21
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.
Meditation: Jeremiah 28:1-17
“By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke.” (Jeremiah 28:13)
To the little boy who is enduring a “time out” or who has lost access to his favorite toy, discipline is not an enjoyable experience. But the boy’s mother knows that she is doing something good for him. She has taken advantage of a teachable moment to help her son learn good manners, respect, or some other vital virtue. Equipped with the blessings of a long-term view, she knows that corrections like these may not be enjoyable but are ultimately very fruitful.
In today’s first reading, the people of Israel are facing a time out of sorts. Many of them are living in exile, and Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, is asserting rule over Jerusalem through a Jewish puppet-king. While the prophet Hananiah promises that all will be restored
to business as usual, Jeremiah sees things differently. This national humiliation will not end peacefully, because the people are undergoing the consequence of years of disobedience to their covenant with the Lord. They were being disciplined by God, and their best response would be to submit to Babylon so that they can learn the humility they need to live as God’s people once again.
What made it so hard for the people to listen to Jeremiah? False prophets like Hananiah, who told the people that God would take away their discomfort quickly and that they had nothing to learn from the experience. Just sit tight, Hananiah said. God will make everything right again. But Jeremiah knew that things could be right only if the people had a change of heart and returned to the Lord. He knew that God would do whatever was necessary—including national humiliation and exile—to teach them.
Have you ever been caught in an untruth and had to work to rebuild someone’s trust again? Or perhaps an act of self-centeredness has hurt someone close to you, and you have to live with the consequences. Don’t think that God is punishing you! No, he is forming you and teaching you a better way. Don’t shy away from these teachable moments. Your heavenly Father is trying to make you more like Christ. And that’s one long-term gain that is well worth any short-term pain!
“Father, I believe your plans for me are good! Help me embrace your discipline and be like your Son, Jesus!”
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