Word to the Wise
Friday, November 18, 2016 - Friday in the 33th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rev 10:8-11 and Luke 19:45-48]FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016. FRIDAY IN THE THIRTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Revelation 10:8-11 and Luke 19:45-48] Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer but you have made it a den of thieves.'" And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words. [Luke] I was once intrigued by the phrase "hanging on his words," thinking that the translators were using a common parlance in English, only to discover that they were translating literally. There is no question that Jesus caused a sensation when he disrupted "business as usual" in the temple area. This gesture was probably the last straw to his opponents, but the gospel passage today notes that "people were hanging on his words," so the plotting continued. In the first scripture for today, the visionary John is commanded to eat a scroll which he is told will taste sweet but give him an upset stomach. [Cf. Ezekiel 2]. The reason is simple. Those words from God will mean saying things that will upset people. The visionary is told "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings." This is the fate of anyone who takes the scriptures seriously and lives by them. When our beliefs disturb "business as usual," the reactions can be very difficult. At times, people will "hang on our words," but then turn around and try to hang us! This happened to Jesus. It could happen to us. AMEN