Above: Christ Cleansing the Temple, by Bernardino Mei
Image in the Public Domain
False Prophets and False Profits
AUGUST 15, 2016
AUGUST 16, 2016
AUGUST 17, 2016
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The Collect:
O God, judge eternal, you love justice and hate oppression,
and you call us to share your zeal for truth.
Give us courage to take our stand with all victims of bloodshed and greed,
and, following your servants and prophets, to look to the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,
your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 45
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 23:30-40 (Monday)
Jeremiah 25:15-29 (Tuesday)
Jeremiah 25:30-38 (Wednesday)
Psalm 32 (All Days)
1 John 4:1-6 (Monday)
Acts 7:44-53 (Tuesday)
Luke 19:45-48 (Wednesday)
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How blessed are those whose offence is forgiven,
whose sin blotted out.
How blessed are those to whom Yahweh imputes no guilt,
Whose spirit harbours no deceit.
–Psalm 32:1-2, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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One must, however, avoid falling into the traps of false prophets and false profits.
In the Book of Jeremiah false prophets stated that doom would not come upon the Kingdom of Judah. God and Jeremiah said otherwise.
In the context of early Christianity we read of false prophets in the New Testament. The standard of truth, according to 1 John 4, is Christology. Rejecting Christ, as in Acts 7, places one in the category of “false.” And, in Luke 19, we read of people Jesus rejected. The money changers at the Temple converted Roman currency (bearing the image of Emperor Tiberius) into non-idolatrous money, which pilgrims used to purchase sacrificial animals. Unfortunately, some of the Temple authorities benefited financially from this arrangement. These were the false profits I mentioned in the opening sentence.
Piety should never become a vehicle for the funding of an impious person’s corruption, just as those who claim to speak for God ought to do what they say they do. The first part of that proposition is easier to make reality than the second part. The difficulty is that we humans frequently mistake an internal monologue for a dialogue with God. Each of us who has claimed that God told him or her something had fallen into this trap at least once. May we, by grace, avoid it as often as possible.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 23, 2016 COMMON ERA
WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK
THE FEAST OF GEORGE RUNDLE PRYNNE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR, PATRIARCH OF ARMENIA
THE FEAST OF HEINRICH VON LAUFENBERG, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/false-prophets-and-false-profits/
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THIS IS POST #800 OF ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS.
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