How Do We Know What & Who to Believe?

SERMON:  June 29^th 2014   Proper 8 , Pentecost 3, Jer. 28:5-9, Matt 10:40-2 

Jeremiah

“Prophets, True Prophets & False Prophets”.             By the Rev. Laura Adelia

How do we know what & who to believe?  Especially when two very different messages sound equally true?  And when the persons speaking have all the credentials that would lead us to believe that they are trustworthy?

A few weeks ago I spoke about a group of clergy, deacons and the diaconate.  The scripture readings for today in Jeremiah and in the gospel talk about prophets.    Prophets were one of the clergy in ancient biblical times, there was the priesthood, the scribes and the prophets. 

Now, we know the Bible has many stories of the prophets.   Who are some of your favorite Biblical prophets?  [Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah…] 

And, not to be outdone, there were female prophets too; Sarah (wife of

Deborah

Abraham), Miriam (sister of Moses), Deborah (warrior, judge & prophet) in the book of Judges…she was pretty cool!  And then there was Hannah (mother of Samuel), and Esther…to name a few.

So, first of all, what is a prophet exactly?    How come prophets seem to have only been around a long time ago? 

I mean, it seems we just don’t see many prophets today, or go into as a “career field”.  People don’t go to seminary, earn a Master of Divinity degree and get ordained to be prophets, or get hired by churches as “prophets”. 

Don't we have prophets of today?  Of course we do.  They just are not as visible as they were in ancient biblical times.

So, what is a prophet exactly?  Well, a prophet is a person who has been contacted by the supernatural, or the divine, and speaks for the divine.  A prophet serves as an intermediary between humanity and God. God chooses them.

A prophet’s message tries to promote change in their society for the better, such as to wake up people to ethics, such as to help the poor, and other social justice issues.  Sometimes they gave warnings about impending war or famine or other not so good news…

A prophet’s life was / is not an easy one.  And many times they were / are not received well. They were targets of persecution and opposition.  A case of shoot the messenger, if you will…especially when the people received news they did not want to hear. 

And just like today, where one doctor says this, and another doctor says that, or a journalist or politician says this, and another says that……Different prophets of the same era gave people conflicting messages.  Such as was the case here in the OT reading in the book of Jeremiah.    And they wondered the same thing….who to believe?

Here, Jeremiah is talking to the priests in the Temple, and to another prophet named Hananiah.

The situation:  It was the 6^th century BC, and Babylon was threatening the kingdom of Israel.  The northern parts of Israel had already been overtaken by the Assyrians. 

Jeremiah was prophesying “Warning!, Red Alert!  War!  Pestilence, famine, exile!    Hananiah prophesied, “No need to worry, all will be well, there would be peace.  Relax!”

Who to believe?

The people naturally wanted to believe good news, & believe there would be peace.  No one wanted to worry about war…

So, no one is listening to Jeremiah, no matter what he says.  He speaks, he waves his arms, he jumps up and down, and still, no one listens.   So, he puts on an oxen yoke, and walks around with it on to dramatize his message.   Now that got people’ attention!

How do we know who, or what to believe?    Yes we have this dilemma today, and right here in our own lives.  One person says this, another says that.  Both have credentials and are respected.  Who, or what to believe?

And we know from what happened in history, that it was Jeremiah that was the true prophet, even though he did give a message of not so good news.  And it was Hananiah, that was the false prophet, even though he gave a message of peace. 

The spiritual lessons… be aware of “feel good” prophecies.  And, be aware of false prophets….

Do we have prophets around today?   Well, we may not see prophets today like they existed back in Jeremiah’s day, or be as “visible” as they were in ancient Israel, but there are prophets today.   People who dare to speak the truth, though unpopular the truth may be.

Who are some of our modern day prophets?  Who are the prophets of today?

[Gandhi?  Mother Theresa?  Martin Luther King Jr.?  Who else?]

  

And what about false prophets?  Do we have false prophets today?

Of course we do. 

They can be difficult to “see”.  But I think the lesson still hold true to this day, be aware of ‘feel good” prophecy,  of don’t worry, relax, everything will be OK!’ 

Not that we should be worrying all the time, but what we need to be is AWARE.

Or as another source I read stated, be aware of the “prosperity gospel”, the gospel of success & abundance.  That enough faith and prayer and living a “good Christian life” will lead to financial security and success.  That is if you “name it”, and “claim it”, it will become so!

And then there are those that take on a cult leader type status.  I am sure many come to mind.  And many times, things lead to tragic deaths and other horrible things.

Yes, very tragic, very sad.

Others tend to hide or cloak themselves in political ideologies, and sling fear and blame…  “Those conservatives!”, “Those liberals!”,  “Those Republicans!”, “Those Democrats!”…. those, those, those…

But God is a God of love & does not polarize. 

Yes false prophets can easily deceive us. 

How can we discern false prophets?

Writer Christian Piatt notices some major traits of “false prophets”.

1.  First, they claim false authority.  They claim to have access to information you can’t otherwise access without them.  And usually for a hefty fee.   

2.  False Hope.  They preach “pray hard enough” or send in your check and you can rest assured. 

3.  False Gospel.    This is also known as “good news” hucksterism.  Your life can be so much more fulfilling if you just …. (fill in the blank).  Chasing rainbows…

4.  False Healing.  A temporary sense of fulfillment that comes from throwing oneself completely into the illusion that this person can give you everything you want or need. There's an adrenaline rush.  But soon the good feelings fade and you're still you in the end, with all the same longings, scars and imperfections.

A true prophet is a truth-teller, one who sees and names things for what they really are, not for what we want them to be. They're often unpopular for their claims, because they challenge the false constructs of a culture or society that that tries to distract itself from dealing with its real issues. But even if the truths such prophets claim aren't necessary pleasant, they do present an opportunity for awakening.

Yes, awakening.  On many levels.

And so I ask you, what things might we need to awaken to, that we may have been avoiding, or not wanting to hear? 

Let us pray,

Guide us and direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favor, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

[Sermon given at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, June 29, 2014]