Word to the Wise
Thursday, November 17, 2022 - Thursday in the 33th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rev 5:1-10 and Luke 19:41-44]"If this day you only knew what makes for peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation." [Luke]
NOVEMBER 17 ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY
Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem because he knew what was coming. They were blinded by religious and political biases that would not allow them to "see" what Jesus came to offer - a "kingdom" of peace that transcends political or institutional-religious establishments. In the case of Jerusalem, the political consideration is the Roman Empire and the occupying Roman power. The institutional-religious consideration is represented in the Jewish religious authorities centered on the temple and its demands along with resentment at Jesus' attacks on the Pharisees and their moral corruption. The political side of this equation led to two revolts (66-70 AD and 135 AD) that resulted in the almost total destruction of the temple and Jerusalem by the Roman power. By the time the Gospel According to Luke was written, the temple had been destroyed.
In an election year, it can be very saddening to hear of policies being advanced by candidates who claim to be religious persons that are completely at odds with Christian or, for that matter, Jewish, Moslem, Hindu or Buddhist traditions! It is as if faith has no part in the "visions" being advanced in order to gain political power. The moral compromises are very similar to what Jesus condemned in his attacks on the Pharisees. In the end, the parable of the Last Judgment [Matthew 25:31-45] will come to haunt those who sought power at the expense of their neighbors in need. The blindness that Jesus cured in the beggar on the road was present the political/religious authorities in Jerusalem. They resisted the peace that Jesus offered. To this day, that blindness can still be tragically present . AMEN