Tuesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
The prophet Zechariah said just yesterday that God was jealous for His people Judah, stranded in Babylonian exile. Yet today the Lord predicts all peoples – even those from those strong, conquering nations – will seek out the Jewish people to worship in Jerusalem.
In the gospel today as Jesus sets out for His own sacrifice for all peoples in Jerusalem, James and John – the “Sons of Thunder” – ask Christ if they may smite an unwelcoming Samaritan village. The Lord chides them. Why? Because He wishes this inhospitable people to convert and come to salvation. In fact, Jesus wants those who will conspire in His death, the chief priests and elders, to be saved too.
It is a sign of our polemical times that in the Church we want to find those who belong to the so-called real Church, a faithful remnant. However, Christ Himself tells us that the Church is always wheat and weeds grown up together until the harvest (cf. Matthew 13:24-30). It is not the job of servants like us to uproot the weeds, but in Christ all things are possible. Like what? Before the harvest, God’s grace can transform weeds into finest wheat. We should call down the fire of the Holy Spirit to convert hearts and redouble our own efforts for discipleship.
Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections