Thursday,
October 29, 2015
30th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading:
Rom 8:31-39
Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and gave him this warning, “Leave this place and go on your way, for Herod wants to kill you.” Jesus said to them, “Go and give that fox my answer: ‘I drive out demons and heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my course!’ Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and for a little longer, for it would not be fitting for a prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone your apostles! How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused! From now on you will be left with your temple and you will no longer see me until the time when you will say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in
the Assimilated
Life Experience)
Jesus’ love for Jerusalem was rarely reciprocated. The few instances include today’s Gospel reading where certain Pharisees alerted him of an assassination plot by Herod. This display of loyalty from a group noted to be inimical to Jesus takes us to the inspiring principle that no bad person is totally bad. I am reminded of a weather forecasting seminar I attended years ago sponsored by DOST and PAG-ASA. In that seminar the speaker talked about the benefits of typhoons. I thought typhoons are absolutely undesirable? The speaker explained that typhoons cause most of the rain that we need. He explained further that without typhoons happening somewhere, we’d stand to suffer yearlong draught.
Just as a typhoon can bring about something desirable, so bad people are still capable of delivering benefits to society. Today’s Gospel passage is a good case in point. With the persistent negative portrayal of the Pharisees by the gospels as inimical to Jesus, who would think anyone loyal to Jesus could come from their ranks?
Jesus too must have seen something positive in his beloved Jerusalem. Thus despite the assassination plot by Herod, he chose to remain in Jerusalem to finish the mission the Father had given to him.
Jesus also loves us as he loved Jerusalem. We feel this in the ministry of the Church, in the charitable deeds of lay people, in the pastoral care of non-government institutions and in the favorable timing of events. Are we reciprocating God for these? Critics rush to answer in the negative. But the fact that God continues to love us despite our apparent ingratitude shows that God still sees some traces of gratitude in our hearts. Wow, what a profound love! – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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