Today’s readings should comfort us, strengthen us, remind us of who we are and call us to repentance. Repentance seems to sound harsh to our ears. We much prefer those images of being comforted and strengthened.
Paul’s Letter to the Romans is one of my favorite Scriptures. It assures us that believers cannot be condemned, “It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, who was raised…who indeed intercedes for us.” (Rom 8:34) That there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ and that there is nothing to drive a wedge between us and “…the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:39)
Trials of Believers
Before we allow ourselves to enjoy a state of bliss, as Christ followers, Paul reminds us that “ For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered. “( Ps 44:23). We who are faithful Christians know that we will be targeted for our faith practices. Some may indeed be slain in the sense of a physical death but in our country, we may suffer by divisions in our families, labeled with words such as intolerant, close minded and naïve. Yet St. Paul assures us,” …in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.” ( Rom 8:37)
A Mission Rejected
Luke’s Gospel uses language that illustrates that Jesus has a mission to spread that love of God and no one, not Herod, will stop him. “and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and third day I accomplish my purpose.” (Lk 13:32) Jesus is adamant in that he will continue on his path to Jerusalem performing miracles, to the ultimate sacrifice of his life for all. But will he be accepted?
Of course, we can answer that for that time, no, the people were unwilling to accept Jesus. Did they repent of their sinful ways? Luke wants us to know that as much as Jesus longed to gather them all under his loving protection “…as a hen gathers her brood under her wings…” ( Lk 13:34) they turned away.
Love Waits for a Response
Yet here we stand today in the 21st century with greater understanding of our deposit of faith. And still, we turn away from Jesus’s teachings. Repentance calls us to recognize our sinfulness and ask for God’s pardon. What will it take for us to change from self-centered beings to God centered beings? Our Lord waits, breathlessly, for our response.
1 appreciate that your examples and descriptions of the current battles and sinful behaviors that we experience today. Christians today, I do not understand how we humans, say we love Christians, and yet we intentionally show unkindness, hate, and act unjustly to harm and disenfranchive anyone who does not look and live and act like us. Jesus died for us to forgive our sins, yes! Let Christians also remember that Jesus, taught us to love God, and to love one another as we love ourselves. I would love to ask Jesus in person, what do you say to those who intentionally work against the poor and less monetarily fortunate by not feeding them, separing families through deportations, working to elimate resources. for example food assistance, healthcare assistance, jobs, and resources that do NOT assist with uplifting and respecting the dignity and wellness of people from all “tribes” . We all need to learn and dedicate what we do to acts that align with our Catholic Social Teachigs. As I close, YES , Jesus died for our sins,! And he also taught to be loving and helpful in all that we do. Let’ us ask more, what would Jesus do and do that to others. Thank you for your ministry of writing and sharing God’s words.