(Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.)
We could call this passage the Battle of the Prophets, Jeremiah versus Hananiah, the prophet announcing doom versus the prophet announcing good news.
It is also the battle of the yokes. Jeremiah had made a wooden yoke for himself, symbolizing that the people and nation had to submit to the king of Babylon. Hananiah broke Jeremiah’s wooden yoke and said that God would break the yoke of the king of Babylon and set God’s people free. The Jeremiah came back with an iron yoke to reinforce his teaching that the people had to submit to the Babylonians. Jeremiah then predicted that Hananiah would die that year, and Hananiah died two months later.
It is said that the prophet announcing doom needs no proof, whereas the prophet who announces good times is only recognized when the good times come. Hananiah lost the battle of the yokes, and his prophetic word did not come to pass. Jeremiah, however, who had prophet of doom, also predicted Hananiah’s death, and his word proved true. Jeremiah would also see his people defeated and sent into exile. Although, the prophet of doom needed no proof, Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled.
The prophecy of doom needs no proof. When the doom is imminent, there is no time to look for proofs. When the people repent, the doom is also averted. The purpose of a prophecy of doom is to call people to conversion.
We have difficult and contentious decisions to make in our times, both in our personal lives and in our national life. This not time for disagreement, such as Jeremiah versus Hananiah. Rather it is a time to listen carefully to what the Lord would have us do. It is a time for honesty among those with disagreements. Without honesty, every word supposedly prophetic will be false and a lie and our personal and national lives will go down in defeat.