For me, the most striking part of today’s readings are these lines: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men of every nationality, speaking different tongues, shall take hold, yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” (Zec. 8:23) The urgency in the request is palpable. It is as if the nations have grasped (literally) the truth that the nation of Israel is headed up to Jerusalem and thus on its way to union with God.
Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem
In the Gospel, Jesus is on his own journey to Jerusalem where he knows he will meet the cross. He will be lifted up on the instrument of torture that will bring all of us to the possibility of restored relationship to the Father. We must choose to do this and, like the Samaritans in the Gospel, can refuse to be part of Jesus’ pilgrimage to His destination. Their lack of vision is not the last word, of course. Jesus does not permit the disciples to call down punishment on the Samaritan village and there is also the hope that Zechariah’s prophecy will prove true for them.
The Witness of the Saints
The saints whose memorials we celebrate today, St. Lawrence Ruiz and St. Wenceslaus, bring this mystery into sharp relief. St. Lawrence was a married man with a family, born in the Philippines of a Chinese father and Filipina mother. He worked as a clerk and calligrapher until he was falsely implicated in a murder and fled with a group of Dominican priests to Japan. He and his companions were martyred for the Catholic faith when they inadvertently landed in a part of Japan that was virulently anti-Catholic. St. Wenceslaus worked to unify and Christianize what is known today as the Czech Republic. He was murdered at the behest of his own brother for political reasons but also out of hatred for the Catholic faith. Both saints are examples of taking hold of the cross as a means of union of God. Their destination, too, is the heavenly Jerusalem.
Our Everyday Response
Of what are we being asked to “take hold”? What is the connection to the cross for us? Is it cancer or stress or a deadline or weather events or gunshots in the night? Or is it the loss of a loved one? Is it being asked to witness to our faith in a way we find uncomfortable? Is it the annoying habits of the person with whom we live? In all these and countless other ways, we have the opportunity to join ourselves to the journey up to Jerusalem to meet with the passion and the cross and finally, the joy of resurrection.
