Today’s readings begin in the court of Zedekiah, king of Judah.  Zedekiah was a young king who had been installed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. We learn in the preceding chapter that the Lord had chosen to use Nebuchadnezzar as an instrument of judgment, allowing him to rule over His people for a time.  Jeremiah is told to form a yoke and to put it on his shoulders as a sign of the fealty that nations would owe to this foreign king. Jeremiah was told to warn the people not to listen to their local prophets, diviners, and soothsayers, who might provide a rosier picture of the future.  “They prophesy lies to you!”  (Jer. 27:9, 14). 

Thus we find Hananiah, one of those local prophets bearing a message of future triumph, directly contradicting Jeremiah.  Jeremiah’s immediate response is both measured and wise: “From of old, 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.”  The way of the prophet is hard. War, woe, and pestilence do come to pass regularly; peace, not so much.    

In our own day, there are many people who promise a rosy future, whether through their products, services, or politics.  But those who claim to speak for the LORD bear a special burden – they have to get it right.  Jeremiah showed remarkable patience, waiting to deliver another message from the Lord.  It did not end well for Hananiah.  The way of the faithful prophet may be hard, but the way of the false prophet is harder.

Today’s gospel presents the familiar account of Jesus performing a miracle to feed those who came to hear him.  He did this in a time of grief, after the murder of his kinsman John the Baptist, a prophet who prepared the way for our Lord.  Yet, Jesus’ compassion for the people helped him overcome his own misery and weariness.  (This, too, seems miraculous, doesn’t it?)

The miraculous sign he performed is the only miracle that appears in all four gospels. It calls to mind the prophet Elisha, who miraculously fed a hundred men with twenty loaves, also with plenty left over.  (2 Kings 4: 42-44).  It also reflects the manna that God used to feed Israel during the exodus.  And it foreshadows Jesus’ own transformation into the bread of life, which comes to us in the eucharist (John 6). 

Jesus follows after the line of prophets who went before him, sharing a life of difficulty and suffering to bring a message that was not always well received.  Only Jesus delivers on the promise of peace, uniting us to God in a way that only He could bring, thereby also fulfilling the words Jeremiah spoke so many years before.   

Lord, help us to follow the words of the Psalms today, coming to you in humility to hear your words and to live according to them.  Save us from false prophets and false promises.  Draw us to the living bread that you alone provide to sustain us, even in the midst of hard times and difficulties that accompany us in this life.   Thanks be to God.