HOMILY OF 30TH THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B
HOMILY OF 30TH THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: “BEHOLD, YOUR HOUSE WILL BE ABANDONED.”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
At that time some Pharisees came to him and said, “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned. [But] I tell you, you will not see me until [the time comes when] you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
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“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.” This warning comes from the Pharisees. This could be seen as a genuine concern for the safety of Jesus. After all, Herod is notorious for his unreasonable fits of violence. In fact, he has just ordered the beheading of John the Baptist in prison. On the other hand, however, knowing the malice and envy of the Pharisees, they must have used this warning as a ploy to frighten Jesus so that He will stay out of their area.
In any case, Jesus is in no way perturbed and does not show any sign of trepidation. Instead, He challenges them boldly: “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.”
Absolutely nobody can intimidate Jesus and stop Him from His path to self-immolation. Since childhood, He already knows that His life is dedicated to the fulfillment of the will of His heavenly Father. No power on earth can derail the Father’s plan. Not even Herod, with all his power, is going to change any of that.
So, Jesus has nothing to fear, for He has no other thing in mind other than the fulfillment of the Father’s plan. He knows that when the ‘appointed time’ comes, He will face his passion and death, and this will all take place in Jerusalem and nowhere else. Hence, his gaze is wholly directed towards the Holy City: “The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame” (Is 50:7).
And while standing on the Mount of Olives, He looks at Jerusalem, the city that has persecuted and killed all of God’s messengers. Jesus likens Himself to a mother bird who gathers her young under her wings. He earnestly wishes to protect and save them. But they reject Him, as they rejected many prophets before. Looking at the City from a distance, He weeps in sorrow knowing that their rejection will have disastrous consequences . Thus, He prophesies: “Behold, your house will be abandoned.”
For His listeners, this is something ridiculous and even blasphemous. But this prophecy actually happened. In the year 70 AD, just 40 years after His death, the Roman army came and reduced the whole Jerusalem into rubble and destroyed the Temple never again to be rebuilt.
God is absolutely omniscient and omnipotent. He has already His master plan for the whole world and has the power to bring it to fulfillment, regardless of the cooperation or opposition of the people. With the gift of freedom, we can decide to reject or oppose this plan. But doing so will only hurt ourselves. This is precisely what happened to Jerusalem.
A contemporary American author, Priscilla Shirer, rightly said, “Today’s difficulties are often a result of yesterday’s disobedience.” In fact, according to St. Augustine, “the cost of obedience is small compared with the cost of disobedience.” Because of disobedience, Adam brought sin and death to the world (Rom 5:12). Conversely, because of obedience, Jesus died on the cross, but it gained Him final victory and salvation for us all.
May the Gospel lesson today inspire us to be firm and steadfast in our resolve to obey God regardless of any consequences it may entail, for we know that doing so is ultimately for our well-being, not only in this life, but especially in the life to come. May we have the courage of Peter and the apostles to stand before any human power, and proclaim: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
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