Word to the Wise
Thursday, November 19, 2015 - Thursday in the 33th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Macc 2:15-29 and Luke 19:41-44]As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If this day you only knew what makes for peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes...." [Luke]
The organizing element of the Luke/Acts is geographic. The gospel begins in a tiny Palestinian village and spreads to the whole world. In the first volume, the Gospel of Luke, the geographic element is Jesus' year long journey to Jerusalem where he would be put to death. The scene today is dramatic. Jesus approaches Jerursalem and on catching sight of it begins to weep with sadness and frustration. He comes as a peaceful Messiah and will ride into the city on a donkey and not a conquering war horse. Because the religious authorities of Jerusalem reject the peaceful king, they will see a war-like ruler come and destroy the city. The blindness of the religious authorities in Jerusalem stands in stark contrast to the blind man on the journey whose faith moves Jesus to heal him.
Jesus simply did not fit into the expectations of his adversaries. The old saying, "There are none so blind and those who will not see," applies here. There is another saying we can apply to ourselves: "How could I have been so blind?" When something confronts us that pierces the wall of expectations surrounding us, we will fight to repair the wall and expel the intruder. Psychologists call this "denial." Do we have our own "walls of Jerusalem" that Jesus cannot penetrate? When he comes peaceably into our midst, do we reject him because we have certain demands that he must meet? Are our eyes blinded and cannot see the tears in his over our blindness?
This next Sunday we will celebrate the feast of Christ the King. We should not be blinded by a splendid image that hides the humble Jesus who comes on a donkey. This is how we will know what makes for peace. AMEN
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