Internal Purity over External Purity by Keeping the Leavens of the Pharisees Off- Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Are you clean?

Of course, I am! I take shower everyday and change my cloths daily.

I know you look clean outside. But are you clean inside?

If you have this conversation with a physician, it is referred to physiological cleanliness as all harmful substances generated by life-sustaining activities are promptly neutralized and removed. As our physiological system becomes “dirty”, then the pH level of body fluid becomes acidic and this contributes to pathogeneses of many diseases, including cancer. Even you always eat healthy foods,

On the other hand, if you have this conversation with Jesus, the cleanliness is of the seats of our emotions and thoughts, which lead to our actions.

In the Gospel Reading (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23) of the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, the Pharisees, with some scribes, ask Jesus why his disciples eat a meal with unclean hands, not following the tradition of the elders to wash (vv.1-5). And Jesus responds, citing from Isaiah 29:13:

Did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’ You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition. How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! (Mark 7:6-8)

Jesus does not explain to his contenders why his disciples did not follow the purity tradition of the elders, which the Pharisees meticulously follow by carefully washing their hands before eating. Rather, Jesus describes them as the type of hypocrites that Isaiah was prophesizing against, for their futile worship and disregarding of God’s commandment for the sake of their own precepts.

So why does Jesus respond to the Pharisees and the scribes in such a way? And we will find it out in his words, as he further spoke to them:

For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things (Mark 7:9-13).

Though this saying of Jesus to his contenders is omitted from the Gospel Reading, it is nevertheless important to understand Jesus’ reason to call them hypocrites for hijacking God’s commandment for their own human teaching. His words above explain how they actually dishonor God by twisting His commandment for their own interest. For this, Jesus describes how their tradition to demand qorban, which is a gift consecrated to God, collected in the Temple, can make it difficult for the poor to keep the filial piety commandment (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9; cf. Deuteronomy 5:16).

This commandment is intended for children to assure the welfare of their aging parents. It means that they demonstrate their reverence to their parents by taking a good care of them. However, as pointed by Jesus, the Pharisees keep people, especially the poor, from observing God’s filial piety commandment by the way they impose the human precept of qorban for the administration of the Temple in the name of God.

Imagine, your diocesan bishop mandates that you give 10% of your meager income as your tithing not to be excommunicated, even you are poor, barely making ends meet and need, while you need to care for your aging parents. If that were the case, what Jesus would say to this bishop?

No, Jesus is not necessarily speaking against the qorban. But what he criticizes is the way this human precepts is imposed to the poor, resulting in making it difficult for the poor to keep the filial piety commandment. While it is God’s commandment to take care of aging parents, it is not in His Law to demand qorban in His name for the Temple. This was created by the religious leaders. And this is not to be confused with God’s precept of qorbanut, a sacrificial offering in the Temple (i.e. Numbers 28:1-15; Deuteronomy 16:2-6) and tithe (Deuteronomy 14:22-23).

So, Jesus rebukes his contender with these strong words:

You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on (Mark 7:13).

Because they void God’s word for the sake of their tradition and precepts that they pass on and impose, Jesus calls his contender hypocrites, whose worship is in vain.

Then, Jesus assembles the crowd and teaches:

Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile (Mark 7:14-15).

Now Jesus shifts the gear from criticizing the hypocrites to the true cleanliness by giving the above small parable.

Though the Pharisees and the Scribes demand them to wash hands before eating, it is not in God’s law to wash hands, as well as, dishes, cups, and utensils, before eating. The meticulous cleanliness by washing and cleansing is required by God’s law for the Temple priests for the ritual purity, based on Exodus 30:17-21. But God does not impose His people to wash hands before eating to worship Him.

After the crowd is gone, the disciples ask Jesus what he meant by the parable (Mark 7:16).

Jesus explains:

Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine? But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile (Mark 7:17-23).

In this, Jesus uses an analogical metaphor to teach that what goes into a person per se is not what defiles but a certain thing within us, especially, within our hearts, can defile, as Escherichia coli (E. coli) in our intestines can make our feces pathogenic though food we eat is free from this pathogenic bacteria. By this, Jesus wants his disciples and us to understand that we should really strive for the cleanliness of our hearts more than cleanliness of our hands before eating. According to him, our internal cleanliness matters far more than external cleanliness. And he also teaching against the vanity of the hypocrites who take pride in their practice of the purity tradition, while neglecting certain precepts of God, because of their internal filth. No wonder Jesus warns against the leavens of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy (Luke 12:1; cf. Matthew 16:6; Mark 8:15).

A good example is money, though it does not go into our bodies.

They say that money is the root of all evil. But it is not true, because money per se is neither good nor evil, though many people do evil things for money. The culprit here is what is in our hearts, such as greed. Otherwise, money can be used for a good cause, such as charity projects to please God (i.e. Deuteronomy 1:17; Psalm 82:3-4).

The Pharisees are highly educated with the Word of God. Even though the Word, which is good, is taken into them, what comes out of them is defiled, because of the evil leavens in their hearts. It is not that the Word become corrupted but can be twisted and abused as it goes through defiling hearts with leavens of the Pharisees. That is why they nullified God’s commandment for their own way of tradition and teaching. As a result, as Jesus points out, what the leavens of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, does is that imposition of their tradition of quorban can keep the poor from observing God’s precept of filial piety.

In the First Reading (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8), we hear Moses teaching not to edit God’s Law for our own interests if we want to be respected. But what the Pharisees seek respect for themselves by altering the Law for their own tradition, as Jesus confronts in the Gospel Reading (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23). In this Gospel Reding, Jesus also reminds us that nothing we receive and take in us from God defiles us but we must be aware of what is in our hearts to make sure what comes out of us is not evil.

James the lesser, in the Second Reading (James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27) calls us not only to receive the Word of God with humility to keep our hearts from defiling evil but to act according to the Word in us so that our religious tradition can be pure and undefiled, reaching out to those who are in need with love and justice. As reflected in the refrain of the Responsorial Psalm 15:1a, this is how we live in the presence of the Lord.

Let us receive the Word of God without any self-interest but open and humble heart to keep our hearts undefiled so that our acts of the Word contributes to the purity of our religious tradition, keeping the leavens of the Pharisees away. Otherwise, we risk ourselves to be like these hypocrites to hijack God’s Word and Law to build our own tradition, voiding His precepts and making our worship in vain. Now we know how important the cleanliness of the seat of our emotions and thoughts, and why Jesus presses on our hearts rather than keeping God’s commandments superficially (Matthew 5:20-30).

Let us also receive the Holy Spirit for cleansing of our hearts, for God says:

I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

Crossing a Threshold for Eternal Life - Believing in Jesus and His Christological Truth in the Living Bread of Life: Twenty- First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Since the Seventeenth Sunday, we have been reading from John 6 for five consecutive Sundays. Now on this Sunday (21^st Sunday), we complete our Sunday Gospel Reading from John 6. 

We have been following Jesus’ discourse on the living bread of life (John 6:26-58) from the 18^th Sunday to the 20^th Sunday, upon reflecting Jesus’ fifth miraculous sign: feeding the great crowd of at least 5,000 by multiplying the five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:1-15) on the 17^th Sunday. On the 21^st Sunday, we reflect how those who had followed Jesus up to the point of his living bread of life discourse reacted to the Christological truth revealed in the discourse (John 6:60-69).

The crowd of hungry people kept following Jesus, and he responded to their needs with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd, feeding them completely by multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6:33-44; John 6:1-15). Though they were satisfied, they kept following Jesus with the hope to be fed again.  So, Jesus confronted their motive of following him:

Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal (John 6:26-27).

In fact, this is how Jesus began his discourse on the living bread of life, first addressing it as the food that endures for eternal life, to teach them that what they need most is the spiritual food, more than material food, such as ordinary bread. The reason for this is that ordinary material food does not entitle us to eternal life but the spiritual food only given by Christ leads us to eternal life. A key to understand the discourse is the spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, you would be like the majority of those who kept following Jesus, rejecting the living bread of life, though it gives eternal life to be raised from the dead on the last day, because it is too difficult to understand that eating this bread means eating the living flesh of Jesus, the incarnated Christ, as reflected in the Gospel Reading of the 21^st Sunday (John 6:60-69).

First, Jesus taught that they must believe in him, as the necessary condition to understand and appreciate the food that endures for eternal life (John 6:29). They, then, seemed to have thought the food that Jesus was about to tell had something to do with manna (John 6:31). To this, Jesus reminded that the manna was not given by Moses but by the Father, because the bread of God from heaven gives life to the world (John 6:32-33). So they asked Jesus to give the bread of God (John 6:34), perhaps, thinking that it is better than manna. In response, Jesus began to reveal his Christological identity as the bread from heaven to give life, endures for eternal life, saying:

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst (John 6:35).

Jesus was aware, however, that they would not believe (i.e. John 6:36). Nevertheless, he continued on with his discourse.

Besides the fact that he is the bread of life to cease hunger and believing in him to quench thirst, Jesus revealed his relation with the Father, to help them understand why he is from heaven to be the bread from heaven and that it is the Father’s will to give eternal life to those who believe in him, as he raise these believers on the last day (John 6:37-40).

Then, realizing that it is Jesus, Joseph’s son, whom they knew, they grumbled how such an ordinary man be from heaven (John 6:42). And this was the beginning of their disbelief. But Jesus continued on with his discourse, saying that those whom he will raise on the last days, those who believe in him, are drawn to him by the Father, and they are those who obedient to His teaching (John 6:43-47).

So he repeated:

I am the bread of life (John 6:48).

And he explained how he, the bread of life, is different from manna, though both of these are from heaven, sent by the Father:

Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die (John 6:49-50).

Then, Jesus revealed the bread of life as the living bread of life and what it means to eat this bread:

I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world  (John 6:51).

In response to the revelation of this truth, those who kept following Jesus said:

How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (John 6:52).

So Jesus further expounded on what he said:

Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever (John 6:53-58).

Though they asked Jesus to give them the food that the bread of God from heaven that gives life (John 6:34), now they reject this life-giving bread because the truth in this bread is too difficult for them to understand and accept (John 6:60).

Sensing their problem with his teaching on the living bread of life, Jesus asks:

Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? (John 6:61-62).

Since he already told them that he came from heaven as the bread from heaven to give life to the world, Jesus is challenging them how they would understand and accept his ascension to heaven when that time comes.

Here Jesus links understanding the living bread of life to his ascension, because he came down from heaven as the living bread to give life.

Now, Jesus gives the key to understand the truth in his discourse on the living bread of life:

It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life (John 6:63).

Through these words, Jesus is revealing the truth that the living bread of life, which is his living flesh, is not a merely physical reality but a spiritual one. And this truth is explained by St. Thomas Aquinas through transubstantiation, making physical bread into the body of Christ, the supernatural bread, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Summar Theologiae, IIIa-q75). And St. Ephrem of Syria calls this spiritual bread, in contrast to Passover matza (Hymn on Unleavened Bread XVII, 5-17).

Eating Jesus’ living flesh as the living bread of life, therefore, is not cannibalism. If it were so, the bread given by Jesus would not give life, because the flesh per se gives no eternal life. Only the Holy Spirit does. The fact that the living flesh of Jesus gives eternal life means that eating his flesh as the living bread of life is not eating his flesh in the manner of cannibalism. Without the Holy Spirit, unless it is spiritual and supernatural bread, the bread of life would be like manna, unable to endure for eternal life. In addition, Jesus also indicates that words that come out of his mouth are spirit and life. This reminds that we cannot live by bread alone but words out of God’s mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). It also evokes the fact that Jesus is the Theos-Logos (Word-God) incarnated in the human flesh to dwell among us (John 1:1, 14) by the power of the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:35). Therefore, eating the living flesh of Jesus, as the living bread of life, means to take the Holy Spirit in and the Word in, so that we have Christ in us, us in him, as the Father is in him, and he in Him (John 14:20), to be one with him (John 17:21), namely becoming one body of Christ, the living Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

Then, Jesus brings up the necessity of believing again (John 6:64) and indicates that those who believe are the ones brought to him by the Father (John 6:65). At this point, many of those who have kept following Jesus left him and returned to their former lives, forfeiting a possibility of eternal life, by rejecting the living bread of life, Jesus (John 6:66).

So Jesus asks the twelve disciples of his:

Do you also want to leave? (John 6:67)

Then, Peter, representing the twelve, answers:

Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God (John 6:68-69).

This is a statement of faith, showing that he believes in Jesus as the holy one of God. In fact, it was also Peter, who proclaimed Jesus as:

You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16).

By affirming his faith in Jesus as the Holy One of God, the Messiah (Christ), Peter continues to follow Jesus, together with the eleven other disciples, beyond this point.

In completing his discourse on the living bread of life (John 6:26-58), Jesus pressed on his twelve disciples if they would continue to be with him or not (John 6:67), while many of those who had followed him left, rejecting the truth in the living bread of life, because it was too difficult for them to understand and accept, because of their disbelief (John 6:66).  This suggests that believing in Jesus, as the living bread of life, which is his flesh to eat for eternal life to be one with him, is a threshold to be crossed, as the Israelites on the exodus journey from Egypt had to cross the threshold of Jordan River to enter the promised land, by renewing their covenant with God, as reflected in the First Reading (Joshua 24:1-2,15-18). In this reading, Joshua asked the Israelites if they would remain loyal to the covenant with God or defect to other gods, pressing on them to make themselves clear, before crossing Jordan River to enter the promised land. And Jesus demands our answer if we would continue to journey with him, believing in him and his teaching of the living bread of life, as his living flesh to eat for eternal life, before entering his Kingdom.

As the Israelites sustained their life for the promised land through manna  (i.e. Joshua 5:12), we must keep ourselves alive with the living bread of life, as the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, until Jesus returns at the end of time to bring us into his Kingdom (i.e. Luke 22:16). For this, we must affirm our belief in him and loyalty with him so that we shall enjoy eternal life in his Kingdom, eating his living flesh as the spiritual bread of life! And we must be obedient to him, as reflected in the Second Reading (Ephesians 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32)! In the meantime, we shall enjoy the goodness of the Lord in the living bread of life, which is his living flesh, as sung in the refrain of the Responsorial Psalm:

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord (34:9a).

If we believe in him and obeying his teaching on the living bread of life, we sure can taste and see the goodness of the Lord in eating his living flesh as the spiritual food!

The Living Bread of Life is the Incarnated Wisdom-Word, the Supernatural and Spiritual Bread – Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Following Jesus’ miraculous feeding of a large crowd of at least 5,000 out of five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:1-15), Jesus feeds them with the Word, making it a discourse about the living bread of life (John 6:26-58). Through this discourse, Jesus progressively reveals the Christological truth that he is the bread of life (John 6:35, 48), in fact, the living bread of life, which is his flesh for the life of the world  (John 6:51), upon calling them to work for the food that endures for eternal life, only given by him (John 6:27). At first, they asked Jesus to give them this food, which is the bread of God that gives life to the world (John 6:33-34). But, when they realized that Jesus, whom they kept fanatically following ever since being fed, was the son of Joseph, they grumbled how he could say that he is the bread of life from heaven (John 6:41-42). Their recognition of Jesus as the son of Joseph prevented them from believing that he is the very bread that they asked for.

Jesus continued on with his discourse, addressing his consubstantial union with the Father, to help them understand why he is the bread of life from heaven, as the bread given by God is also from heaven, juxtaposing the bread of life from heaven to manna from heaven, but differentiating in terms of the enduring quality for eternal life (John 6:43-50).

So Jeus makes his Christological identification further from being the bread of life from heaven:

I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world (John 6:51).

Here, Jesus reveals clearly that the bread, which they asked for (John 6:27), the bread of life from heaven (John 6:35, 48), is his living flesh (σάρξ /sarx), rather than κρέας/kreas, which is dead meat, of Jesus himself. In response, they complained how in the world he, the son of Joseph, would give them his flesh to eat (John 6:52).

Apparently, they were disgustedly horrified, as they seemed to think that Jesus was promoting cannibalism, which is associated with a terrifying curse (i.e. Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53-57; Jeremiah 19:9; Lamentations 2:20). But Jesus did not seem to care, as the truth matters more than what they felt about the revelation of the truth. So, he said further:

Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever (John 6:53-58).

With the above words, Jesus was not reiterating what he said before but expounding on the Christological truth progressively revealed in this discourse.

Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal (John 6:26-27).

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day (John 6:35-40).

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world (John 6:47-51).

Now, the focal theme is the living flesh of Jesus, rather than bread, because the substance of the living bread of life is the living flesh of life. The crowd must have wondered how it would be possible the flesh of Jesus to be the bread of life from heaven. But those who follow St. Thomas Aquinas’ logical explanation of transubstantiation (Summar Theologiae, IIIa-q75), the truth is that the living flesh of Jesus is present in the species of bread, which the Holy Spirit is infused through epiklesis.  In reference to St. Ambrose’s work on the Sacraments (De Sacram, IV), Aquinas juxtaposes the supernaturality of the transubstantiation by the power of the Holy Spirit to the Blessed Virgin conceiving the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. And later in the discourse, Jesus indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit in his living flesh as the living bread of life, stating:

It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life (John 6:63).

Jesus is not addressing his biologically living flesh, as it per se does not lead to eternal life, just as manna did not, though it was also from heaven, sent by God the Father. What Jesus means by the living bread of life, his living flesh to be eaten for eternal life, is made living and life-giving because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. And it is the presence of the Holy Spirit to make the living bread of life supernatural to be transubstantiated to the living flesh of the incarnated Christ, Jesus. So, St. Ephrem calls the living bread of life “spiritual bread” with supernatural power to take us to heavenly paradise:

Matza is a symbol of the bread of life; those of old ate the new mystery.

Moses disclosed the symbol of the One who renews all and gave it to gluttons who craved flesh.

Meat from the earth weighed them down –heir mind stooped to greed.

The earthly ones ate heavenly manna (Exodus 16 etc.) They became dust on the earth through their sins

Spiritual bread flew lightly away

The Gentiles soared up and settled in the midst of Paradise.

Matza’s nature is heavy

Symbolising the People that cannot fly.

Elijah ate from the pitcher and jug (1 Kings 17.14) the light symbol that flew through the air

It was not a Daughter of Jacob who provided the symbol: Elijah ate it through that Daughter of the Gentiles (i.e. the widow of Zarephath)

If the mere symbol of Christ’s bread made Elijah fly like that (2 Kings 2.11)

How much more may it transport Gentiles to Eden? (Hymn on Unleavened Bread XVII, 5-17).

 As it was the Holy Spirit to have drawn Simeon to Jesus (Luke 2:25-28), we know that we can be brought to him by the Holy Spirit. Because the living bread of life is the spiritual bread, rather than mere bread made from wheat, it brings us in Christ. And Jesus makes this truth clear:

 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me (John 6:56-57).

 Now we understand that eating the living flesh in the spiritual bread, called, the living bread of life, will bring us in Christ, as he in us, to have eternal life, since he is the way to the Father, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). So, by eating the living bread of life, we are in Christ, and him in us, as he is in the Father, and He in him (John 14:20; 17:20-23). And this way, we shall remain to be fruitful branches of the true vine for the glory of God (John 15:4-8). In essence, Jesus is offering himself to save us into the glory of God by being the living bread of life, which St. Ephrem calls “spiritual bread” and St. Thomas Aquinas regards as “supernatural bread”.

As I said earlier, Jesus has been feeding the crowd with his Word, through his bread of life discourse, through which he progressively reveals the Christological truth that he is the living bread of life to be eaten for eternal life. And this is the spiritual and supernatural bread, as it is the incarnated Christ himself. Therefore, it is inexhaustible. This one body of Christ can feed countless people. Thus, its effect is incomparably greater than multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed the crowd of at least 5,000.

In the First Reading (Proverbs 9:1-6), we see wisdom hosting a great banquet with bread and wine. What does it mean that wisdom feeds us abundantly?

Here, wisdom is the Christ (i.e. Proverbs 8:22-31). And he is also the Word (John 1:1). This Christological truth of Jesus shows that the incarnated Christ is feeing the crowd with himself as the Wisdom-Word, through his spoken words, out of his mouth, because humans cannot live with bread per se (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). In essence, he is feeding with his living flesh, which is the spiritual bread, as St. Ephrem puts it, for it is the Holy Spirit to make the bread life-giving, and the words spoken by him is the Spirit to give life (John 6:63).

Christ the eternal Wisdom and the Word feeds us so that we may leave a foolish sinful life and seek wisdom to live a life in the Spirit, echoed in the Second Reading (Ephesians 5:15-20). So, Jesus, as the Wisdom, calling us to eat his living flesh and to drink his blood:

Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding (Proverbs 9:5-6).

The wise and those who are becoming wise shall taste and see the goodness of the Lord in the living bread of life as reflected in the Responsorial Psalm with gladness and joy (Psalm34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7). But the fool do not as they only eat ordinary bread, which does not give life, and die.

 

St. Maximilian Kolbe Exemplifies Act of Agape in Imitating Christ

As follower of Christ, as Christians, our lived are renewed in Christ by virtue of the Sacrament of Baptism, affirmed by our own free will, through the Sacrament of Confirmation (i.e. Ephesians 4:17-32). This means more than professing faith in Christ and attending Mass. A true Christians follow Christ and his teaching, which is summed up with to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind (Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 6:5) and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18). On the night before his death, Christ gave the new commandment of love, saying:

I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).

In these words, Jesus implies that we are to imitate him, his way of loving us.

As an apostle, Paul was an imitator of Christ, encourages us to imitate Christ (i.e. 1 Corinthians 11:1). So he wrote to those whose lives are renewed in Christ to be followers of Christ:

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma (Ephesians 4:30-5:2).

Ultimately, this means to imitate God in His love.

John wrote:

Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through Him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another (1 John 4:8-11, 16).

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 John 4:16-21).

In this context, love is agape (ἀγάπη), and this means selfless (i.e. 1 Corinthians 13:5), therefore, even self-sacrificing love. This is truly the case to love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ for Christians, because the one whom we follow, Christ himself demonstrated his love for us by offering himself as the perfect Paschal Sacrifice in our place to save us (i.e. 1 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 9:11-28).

Now, the question is, “Are we willing to die for someone, so that this person’s life may be spared?”

We are not addressing the “Trolley’s Dilemma Problem” in moral calculus. The agape, which is the central teaching of Christianity, has nothing to do with calculation.

On the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we honor the heroic life of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who offered his life to save a fellow prisoner in Auschwitz, July1941.

The man whose number was called to die cried out for life. Moved by compassion, Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.), stepped and asked a Nazi officer if he could take the man’s place. And Fr. Kolbe’s request was granted. So he was placed in a starvation chamber to die. Because he did not die as expected, he was put to death by a lethal injection on 14 August, 1941.

Some argued what Maximilian Kolbe did was an act of devaluing life, like suicide. But such a view miss what it means to be Christian, to observe Jesus’ teaching of love, to be imitators of Christ, who offered his life, so that we did not have to die for our sins. Therefore, such an argument of Maximilian Kolbe’s act of agape not only denigrate him but also Christ, whom he imitated.

In fact, it is Christ himself who said, expounding on his new commandment to love one another:

Love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you (John 15:12-14).

Does Christ teach us to devalue our lives? Does he call us to commit morally justifiable “suicide” for the sake of a friend?

Perhaps so to some of those who do not know and understand Christ. But those whose lives are renewed in Christ certainly understand that this is agape not only taught and commanded by Christ but demonstrated by him to save us on the Cross, by laying down his life.

As St. Maximilian Kolbe exemplified, we may be in situations to save lives of others by sacrificing ours in Christ’s name. The question is, “Are we ready to offer our lives up?” This is not an act of devaluing life but to make life truly fulfilling in light of agape, as taught by Christ.

Not Believing in Jesus as the Living Bread of Life Forfeits Eternal Life and Grieves the Holy Spirit - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

On liturgical cycle B, from the Seventeenth Sunday until the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are reading from John 6 to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, through Jesus’ bread of life discourse, which is his response to the crowd who tenaciously kept chasing him (John 6:22-25) upon being miraculously fed by him (John 6:1-15).

Jesus confronted the crowd because their reason to kept following Jesus was to have their stomach filled again (John 6:26). With this Jesus began his bread of life discourse to let them know his true purpose of feeding was to lead those who believe in him to eternal life by offering himself as the living bread of life (John 6:26-58).

In the Gospel Reading of the Eighteenth Sunday (John 6:24-35), Jesus commanded the crowd to work for the food that endures for eternal life, only given by him, who was anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit (John 6:27). And they expressed their interest in this food for eternal life (John 6:28). In response, Jesus told them that they must believe in him, the one whom the Father sent, because it is He who give this food for eternal life, as He gave manna to the Israelites during Exodus (John 6:29-33). So they demanded Jesus to give them the bread (John 6:34), and Jesus said that he is this bread, the bread of life, to keep those who believe and receive from hunger and thirst (John 6:35).

But Jesus did not think that they would believe in him and consequently the fact that he is the bread of life because they did not believe in him even though they saw him performing a mighty sign to feed them out of mere five loaves and two fish (John 6:36). Jesus, then, reiterated that the bread of life for their eternal life, only given by him, is given by the Father, who sent him, indicating that his consubstantial and hypostatic unity (homoousios/ ὁμοούσιος) with the Father (John 10:30), and that being the bread of life means to raise those who believe in him for eternal life, as it is the Father’s will (John 6:37-40).

The crowd did not pay attention to Jesus’ words, besides that he is the bread of life. So they murmured how in the world Jesus could be the bread of life from heaven, as they recognized him as Joseph’s son whom they knew (John 6:41-42). In response, Jesus commanded them to stop murmuring (John 6:43) and continued on with his discourse to reveal his Christological truth as the bread of life further (John 6:44-51).

Jesus said that those whom the Father draw to him are the ones to be raised by him for eternal life on the last day (John 6:44), and they are the ones who learn from the Father (John 6:45; cf. Isaih 54:13; Jeremiah 31:33–34). But nobody has seen the Father, except for him (John 6:46; cf. 1:18; 7:29). So, how could people be raised for eternal life to learn from the Father and to be drawn to Jesus by Him if nobody had seen Him?

The crowd would not have had a problem with this, if they had heeded Jesus’ words on his consubstantial relationship with the Father (John 6:37-44). They could have understood this Christological truth that seeing Jesus, who was sent by the Father, with whom he is consubstantial, means seeing the Father in him and through him (i.e. John 14:9). Thus, they could have also realized that they could be taught by the Father if they had listened to and believed in him.

Whether they were following him or not in his discourse on the bread of life, Jesus continued on:

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world (John 6:47-51).

Jesus reiterated his precious words  to the crowd (John 6:32-33,35,37-40).

Again, believing in him is an absolutely necessary condition to be raised for eternal life by way of the bread of life. Though both manna and the bread of life that Jesus is are sent by the Father from heaven, the former did not endure for eternal life but the latter does. Why so? Because the bread of life is not just the bread of life but the living bread of life for the world.

Here, Jesus further elaborates in revealing his Christological identity with the Eucharist that the bread of life is not just bread but the living bread. What makes this bread living is the presence of the Holy Spirit in this bread, namely Jesus himself, as he is sealed with the Holy Spirit by the Father (John 6:27; cf. Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 3:16//Mark 1:10//Luke 3:22). And the living bread of life is the living flesh (σάρξ/sarx), not dead meat (κρέας/kreas), and it is because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in this living bread of life (i.e. John 6:63), which is Jesus’ living flesh. Otherwise, the bread of life would not endure for eternal life.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in the bread of life, making it the living bread of life, because it is the living flesh of Jesus, means the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which is the very living body and blood of Christ. On this truth, St. Ephrem, Doctor of the Church, wrote:

He (Jesus) called the bread his living body and he filled it with himself and his Spirit…. He who eats it with faith, eats Fire and Spirit…. Take and eat this, all of you, and eat with it the Holy Spirit. For it is truly my body and whoever eats it will have eternal life (Sermo IV in Hebdomadam Sanctam, as         quoted by St. John Paul II in his Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 17).

In terms of the Holy Spirit in the living bread of life, which is the living flesh of Jesus, not believing this truth grieves the Holy Spirit, and it is reflected in the Second Reading (Ephesians 4:30-5:2). According to this, not believing in the Eucharist as the living body of Christ, the living bread of life as the living flesh of Jesus, means not being sealed with the Holy Spirit for redemption (Ephesians 4:30). And that is the crowd who did not believe in the living bread of life because they hung up on what they knew about Jesus: Joseph’s son. This human mind cognition prevented him from receiving the living bread of life for eternal life, though it was what they begged Jesus.

Perhaps, 69% of Catholics today are like those people in the Gospel reading, who want to have the bread for eternal life but do not believe that this bread is Jesus himself. It is because these Catholics do not believe that the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the living body and blood of the incarnated Christ, Jesus, transubstantiated from bread and wine by the power of the Holy Spirit, according the Pew Research Center’s survey.  It is a shameful reality of the Church today, indicating a failure of catechesis.

Then, how can the Church endure for eternity?

In the Gospel Reading (John 6:41-51), Jesus makes it clear that we must believe in him and in the truth that he reveals and teaches to benefit from the living bread of life that endures for eternal life. Unlike manna, the living bread of life, that is the living flesh of Jesus, is not for a temporary sustenance but for eternal life. Just as the food that God gave Elijah during his spiritual crisis helped him begin to recover and further endure with demanding work for God as His prophet, as reflected in the First Reading (1 Kings 19:4-8), the living bread of life is for our perseverance to overcome crises for eternal endurance.

It is imperative that we need to make sure that our catechesis is a way for the Father to draw catechumen to the Son, who is the living bread of life for eternal life, so that the Church can truly endure for eternity. Otherwise, the Holy Spirit, who is found in the living bread in a fiery manner to keep our hearts burning with faith, and who has been our seal, will grieve.

St. Dominic – Persuasive Preacher to Win Conversion of Heretics, Endorsed with the Divine Wisdom, Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Fortified by the Rosary.

 What do you know about St. Dominic?

I am sure you know him as the founder of the Order of Preachers (OP), also known as the Dominicans.

If you pray the Holy Rosary regularly, as all Catholics should, you know Mary gave him the Rosary as a powerful spiritual weapon to win his battle against the Albigensian heretics (Cathars).

But St. Dominic is more than these.

He was known as a very effective preacher. In fact, his preaching was powerfully persuasive in his fight against heretical Albigensians. And this is well reflected in the First Reading (1 Corinthians 2:1-10a).

Dominic persuasively preached the mystery of God with the endorsement of the divine wisdom and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Of course, his prayer through the Holy Rosary, as Mary’s psalter, added more power to convert Albigensian heretics.

These heretics thought that the flesh was a soteriological obstacle. But Christ has never taught so. Neither Apostle Paul. If the flesh were to keep us from being saved, then, why Christ had to be incarnated in the human flesh to save us?

Their gnostic ignorance of the flesh kept them from hearing and seeing what God had prepared, predestined for them. But, thanks to St. Dominic’s patient and persuasive preaching, more and more Albigensians became able to hear and see what God had prepared for them and why He had sent His only begotten Son in the human flesh for them. Through his preaching, endorsed with the divine wisdom, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and fortified with his prayer of the Rosary, St. Dominic saves so many souls of former Albigensian heretics. 

St. Dominic and his followers lived a very disciplined and organized monastic life, detaching themselves from worldly affairs, as reflected in the Gospel Reading (Luke 9:57-62). This way, they were more effective in engaging in the secular world to preach the mystery of God and His Kingdom.

The Roman Catholic Church honors the life of St. Dominic on August 8.

 

The Transfiguration of the Lord – Christological Revelation of Jesus in a Trinitarian Theophany

August 6 is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. It is a Trinitarian theophany, through which Jesus’ Christological (Messianic) nature was revealed. As reflected in The First Reading (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14) and the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9), the Transformation affirms that Jesus is the everlasting King, whose kingship (Revelation 17:14; 19:16), as well as, the judgeship (John 5:22-23; 9:39), is endorsed by the Father. And his throne is of fire, as in Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7:9).

What proceeded the Transfiguration of the Lord is Peter’s identification of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16//Mark 8:29//Luke 9:20), followed by Jesus first foretelling of his passion, death, and resurrection (Matthew 16:21//Mark 8:31//Luke 9:22), to which Peter protested (Matthew 16:22-23//Mark 8:32-33). The fact that Peter tried to stop Jesus from going to Jerusalem to suffer and die indicates that he and the rest of the disciples did not understand that Christ, the Son of the living God, was to suffer and die, before being raised from the dead to fulfill the fourth servant song prophecy (Isaiah 52:13-53:12).

The disciples knew that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah). But they still did not know what Christ was. Therefore, Jesus’ Christological nature had to be revealed, at least to his core disciples, Peter, James, and John, first. So, he took these three with him to a high mountain and let them witness who Jesus really is as Christ in his Trinitarian theophany (Matthew 17:1-9 (Year A)//Mark 9:2-10 (Year B)//Luke 9:28-36 (Year C)).

On the mountain, as Jesus began prayed (Luke 9:29a), his face changed in appearance, shining like the sun (Matthew 17:2) and his clothing became dazzling white (Mark 9:3). Then, Jesus in his transfiguration was conversing with Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:3//Mark 9:4//Luke 9:30). This is to reveal that Jesus is the fulfillment of both the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17), as Moses represents the Law, and Elijah epitomizes the prophets. And they were speaking of the  exodus that Jesus was going to accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31).

What is this exodus that Jesus was to accomplish in Jerusalem?

Exodus (ἔξοδος)(Luke 9:31), in Greek, means “departure”. So Jesus’ departure from Jerusalem is referred to his ascension, which took place on Mount Olive in the Jerusalem area (Acts 1:6-12; cf. Luke 9:51), and from Jerusalem, the one holy catholic Apostolic Church was born on Pentecost, through which Jesus shepherds the faithful to his Kingdom (Acts 1:8-2:47). Basically, this “exodus” that Jesus in his glory of the Transfiguration was speaking with Moses and Elijah (Luke 9:31) is the exodus to the Apostolic age, which Luke described in the Acts of the Apostles.

But, for Jesus to make his exodus to heaven by way of ascension and for the Church to make the exodus to the Apostolic age upon Pentecost, Jesus had to suffer and die and be raised. And this was what Jesus had foretold in the disciples Caesarea Philippi (Banias) – of his passion, death, and resurrection (Matthew 16:21//Mark 8:31//Luke 9:22).

The glorious light of the Transfiguration was terrifyingly overwhelming (Luke 9:32), and Peter proposed to set up tents for Jesus, for Moses, and for Elijah,  respectively, though he really did not know what he was saying because he was so awe-stricken (Mark 9:5-6//Luke 9:32-33; cf. Matthew 17:4).

Then, a bright cloud cast a shadow over the disciples, and from the cloud, the Father in heaven spoke, while Jesus was still in his glorious light of the transfiguration, with Moses and Elijah:

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him (Matthew 17:5//Mark 9:7//Luke 9:34-35).

At that moment, Jesus in his glorious transfiguration, with his face shining like the sun, and his cloth dazzlingly white, was with the Holy Spirit, as indicated with the bright cloud (i.e. Exodus 13:21), and the Father, whose presence was made evident with his audible voice. Therefore, Jesus in his transfiguration, was his Christological and trinitarian theophany, made available to Peter, James, and John. This is to reveal not only that Jesus, as the Christ, was to suffer, die, and to be raised, but to make his exit (departure) from the earth to heaven, to his throne, which is reflected in the First Reading (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14) and to start the new exodus to his Kingdom through the Apostolic Church. In the Second Reading (2 Peter 1:16-19), Peter testifies that the Transfiguration of the Lord is not a myth as he himself witnessed this majestic theophany on the mountain and heard the voice of the Father that Jesus is His beloved Son and that we are to listen to him. So, he calls us to be attentive to Jesus so that we vigilantly remain (i.e. Luke 21:36; 1 Peter 5:8-12) to be light of the world (Matthew 5:14) until his turn as the King and the judge (i.e. Revelation 19:5-20:15; cf. Daniel 7:10-14; cf. Isaiah 33:21-22; cf. Revelation 4:2-5).

What is our lesson here on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord?

It is, first, to understand that who Jesus really is, as the Christ, the everlasting King, and the Judge, whose dominion is secure, and whose heavenly throne is of divine fire. And we are to listen to our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Father has commanded, through the Holy Spirit, in the bright cloud. So that, as Peter says, we also give witness to Christ, as light of the word, until his return at the end of time. The overwhelming glorious light of the transfiguration is, after all, Christ the light, which makes the sun unnecessary in his Kingdom (Revelation 21:23).

For Truth, Against Falsehood – A Lesson from the Exchange Between Jeremiah and Hananiah

We live in time of falsehood. In everywhere, at every moment, we find fake news. We see many clergies and lay ministers falsifying God's truth. Under the banner of "progressive teaching" and "tolerance" and "diversity", heresies are spreading. Lies are often justified by tactical use of fallacies. 

I am not against progressive teaching, tolerance, and diversity, per se. But these often become slippery slopes on which truth becomes falsified. 

Peter warned against false prophets and false teachers with these words:

There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them, bringing swift destruction on themselves (2 Peter 2:1).

This warning reflects Jesus’ warning:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear a good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them (Matthew 7:15-20).

False prophets were not of a first-century problem but it is also a problem today among Christians.

So who are today’s false prophets and false teachers among us?

Those are usually self-ordained prophets and preachers seeking popularity for themselves, craftly twisting words of God to say what people want to hear, rather than speaking what is true according to God’s will. Some of these false prophets and teachers are “charismatic”, arguing that they have gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and prophecy (i.e. 1 Corinthians 12:8, 10). Such a false “charismatic” prophet often says to someone who has been suffering from illness, “Today, God will heal you!”.

If you have been suffering, it sure is so nice to hear such a prophecy. And your hope will rise.

But what if you are not healed as prophesized by a false prophet? Your hope will give its way to disappointment, to say the least, and, perhaps, resentment and increased anguish.

One thing I learned from my clinical pastoral education (CPE) for hospital chaplaincy was never to say anything that may lead to a false hope to a patient, as well as, the patient’s family members and friends. And my supervisor always checked me with a temptation to make my patients “feel good”.

Ethical principle against false hope is not just for ministers, including prophets, preachers, and chaplains, but also clinicians, such as physicians and nurses. Those who are called to serve people as prophets, teachers, chaplains, physicians, nurses, and psychologists, know that what matters most is truth that affects the people whom they serve. And truth may not always pleasing to them.

True prophets, teachers, chaplains, physicians, nurses, and psychologists, are trained and ordained to bring truth as it is. They also know how a difficult truth can be communicated so that it is accepted by those whom they serve. They are always aware of a danger of temptation to bend a hard truth, because they know, Hippocrates’s principle of “do no harm”. So they do not want to hurt their feelings. But they know that false hope hurts more than upsetting with a difficult truth.

When Judah became a puppet state of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, God said to Jeremiah, a true prophet, to prophesy to people of Judah:

Since you would not listen to my words, I am about to send for and fetch all the tribes from the north—oracle of the Lord—and I will send for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant; I will bring them against this land, its inhabitants, and all these neighboring nations. I will doom them, making them an object of horror, of hissing, of everlasting reproach. Among them I will put to an end the song of joy and the song of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstone and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall be a ruin and a waste. Seventy years these nations shall serve the king of Babylon; but when the seventy years have elapsed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation and the land of the Chaldeans for their guilt—oracle of the Lord. Their land I will turn into everlasting waste. Against that land I will fulfill all the words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. They also shall serve many nations and great kings, and thus I will repay them according to their own deeds and according to the works of their hands (Jeremiah 25:8-14).

Jeremiah to prophesize the 70 years of Babylonian exile for not being obedient to God. But, there appeared a false prophet, Hananiah, and he spoke in the Temple in Jerusalem, while its priests were present:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will restore to this place all the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took from this place and carried away to Babylon. And Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon, I will bring back to this place—oracle of the Lord—for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 28:2-4).

While prophecy is more pleasing to the people of Judah? Jeremiah’s (Jeremiahs 25:8-14) or Hananiah’s (Jeremiah 28:2-4)? Which sounds better, 70 years of misery in exile or only 2 years of misery in exile?

If this were a popularity contest, like what political candidates often play during elections, Hananiah would win. Hearing this, Jeremiah responded to Hananiah with sarcasm:

Amen! thus may the Lord do! May the Lord fulfill your words that you have prophesied, by bringing back the vessels of the house of the Lord and all the exiles from Babylon to this place! But now, listen to the word I am about to speak in your hearing and the hearing of all the people. In the past, the prophets who came before you and me prophesied war, disaster, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as the prophet whom the Lord has truly sent only when his word comes to pass (Jeremiah 28:6-9).

In response to Jeremiah’s confrontation, Hananiah shamelessly repeated his false prophesy in sight of all the people:

Thus says the Lord: Like this, within two years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the neck of all the nations (Jeremiah 28:11).

Being displeased with Hananiah for his false prophecy, God then spoke to Jeremiah, the true prophet:

Go tell Hananiah this: Thus says the Lord: By breaking a wooden yoke bar, you make an iron yoke! For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: A yoke of iron I have placed on the necks of all these nations serving Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and they shall serve him; even the wild animals I have given him (Jeremiah 28:13-14).

So Jeremiah confronted Hananiah the false prophet on behalf of God:

Listen to this, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, and you have led this people to rely on deception. For this, says the Lord, I am sendthing you from the face of the earth; this very year you shall die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord (Jeremiah 28:15-16).

And within 2 months, Hananiah died (Jeremiah 28:17).

What is a lesson from this exchange between Jeremiah and Hananiah, truth and falsehood?

Not matter how “pleasing” to our years, what is false is false. And truth prevails, even it is difficult for us to accept. But to those who believe in God, truth is bearable.

Ministry and clinical service are not about pleasing people by falsifying truth. We sure need to be vigilant against those who bend truth only to please people to be popular. Such false prophets and false preachers may be found in your church or faith-sharing community. Such false clinicians can be among those who provide you with care service.

When you recognize a false prophet, false teacher, false physician, false nurse, false chaplain, and false psychologist, let God help you confront their falsehood, as Jeremiah did to Hananiah.

Truth prevails and heals. But falsehood does not. So God further told Jeremiah to say His truth about what would fallow the 70 years of the exile “treatment”, in regard to the post-exilic restoration of Jerusalem:

Look! I am bringing the city recovery and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them an abundance of lasting peace. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel, and rebuild them as they were in the beginning. I will purify them of all the guilt they incurred by sinning against me; I will forgive all their offenses by which they sinned and rebelled against me. Then this city shall become joy for me, a name of praise and pride, before all the nations of the earth, as they hear of all the good I am doing for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the prosperity I give it (Jeremiah 33:6-9).