They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.” – Jeremiah 18:18

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 14, 2017) Jeremiah 18

For generations, historians have fought over the character of Richard III of England. For some, Richard III is accurately summed up by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare describes Richard III as an ambitious man who is jealous of his older brother, King Edward IV’s, success. Historians have accused Richard of being guilty of fratricide - blaming him for the death of his brother, and for the death of Edward’s sons, Edward V who was around 13 years of age and his younger brother Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. The young boys have been dubbed the “Princes of the Tower” by historians - but no one really knows what happened to the young princes after their admission to the Tower of London after the death of their Father.

But that is not the only picture that we have of Richard III. Other historians have seen the third King Richard as a fiercely loyal man who would never consider killing his older brother – of whom he as deeply proud – let alone the murder of his young nephews. According to this group of historians, Richard was the victim of a propaganda campaign carried out by the House of Tudor, who wished to end the reign of the House of York – the House of which Edward and Richard belonged. These historians remind us that often history often seems to be written by the victors and, in this case, it was the House of Tudor that won the fight. As a result of this campaign against Richard III, the reign of the House of York was not only tarnished, but it was finished.

We may never know the truth about King Richard III, which might be proof of the effectiveness of the lies that our enemies can tell about us. It was a truth that Jeremiah knew first hand. Jeremiah was carrying an unfortunate message, one that the nation didn’t want to hear. They were hoping that the prophet was wrong. Early in Jeremiah’s career, his opponents had already chosen their aggressive response. They were going to speak lies about Jeremiah and discredit him – and the hope was that if lies took hold, then the prophet’s his words would lose their strength – and the people would no longer listen to him. And maybe, their lies would also change the bleak future that Jeremiah was predicting. His opponents planned to accuse Jeremiah of being a false prophet, hoping that the accusation that had been thought up by the religious officials of Jerusalem would end up being true.

Jeremiah knew of their plot and had decided that the problem was not his – it was the problem of the one who had given him his vision of the future. Jeremiah was confident in his God. If he were a false prophet, it would not because the officials of Jerusalem had labeled him as one, but because he had misread the movement of his God. But, once again, history is written by the victors, and in this case, the victor was Jeremiah. His prediction ended up being true, and history has remembered his opponents as the ones who had lied. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 19