Courage In The Face Of Hostilities
Introduction
Absolute trust in God should be a basic characteristic of every Christian. Remember that Jesus died for us and God did not stop him, for he loves us very much. In the difficulties and trials of life, we should not lose our serenity, for God is with us and he cares.
Jesus is warned by apparently sympathetic Pharisees that Herod may kill him. Jesus replies that he has already faced evil spirits and will continue on his way to Jerusalem, – “I must continue on my way” where death awaits him “today, tomorrow, and the next day,” that is, soon. Are we people marked by courage? Let us pray to the Lord for strength.
1 Reading: Romans 8:31b-39
Brothers and sisters: If God is for us, who can be against us? He did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31
R. (26b) Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Do you, O GOD, my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your generous mercy rescue me;
For I am wretched and poor,
and my heart is pierced within me. R.
Help me, O LORD, my God;
save me, in your mercy,
And let them know that this is your hand;
that you, O LORD, have done this. R.
I will speak my thanks earnestly to the LORD,
and in the midst of the throng I will praise him,
For he stood at the right hand of the poor man,
to save him from those who would condemn his soul. R.
Alleluia: cf. Luke 19:38; 2:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.’ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned. But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Commentary
Jesus’ moving lament over a hostile and unresponsive Jerusalem is found within a context that speaks of Herod’s designs on Jesus’ life. Jesus certainly will fulfill the plan of God at the appointed time. In the meantime, spoken figuratively in terms of a series of days, he must continue his ministry of healing and consolation. When the appointed time comes, he, like the prophets before him, will die in Jerusalem. But now he can only regret the fact that Jerusalem remains unresponsive to his message. The people will soon be deprived of their religious leaders; Christ himself will not be seen again until the time of his solemn entry into the city.
Paul today illustrates the lot of the elect, the life that his readers are currently experiencing. Their present lot is privileged and their future assured. He argues that if God loved us enough to send his Son to die for us, he will certainly not deprive us of faith’s final outcome. That incomparable love of God for us is fully actualized in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can possibly separate us from that love, neither human trials (anguish, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, or peril), nor fife or death, past or future, heavenly powers, heights or depths. The love of God in Jesus breaks through every barrier and gives us the greatest confidence.
There is nothing more distressing than indifference in the face of such love. Jerusalem was in direct contact with the work of God in Jesus and yet remained cold. The great tragedy of our times is the fall-off in religious practice, the ever-increasing number of people who live for the present moment. To turn our backs on God’s love in Christ makes Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem applicable to us. What is called for is a new evangelization, a renewed appreciation of our faith, a new way of living.
Blessing
We must be on our way with the Lord, consistently, even in the difficulties of life. We know our goal: love of God and of people, and nothing should stop us. We know we are in the hands of God. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!