As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
(Luke 19: 41-44)
Today’s Gospel reading paints a vivid picture of contrasts. On the face of the reading Jesus of Nazareth, about 33 years old, rides confidently yet comfortably on the back of a young colt. The colt keeps a calm cadence for his rider despite the volume of excited pilgrims bustling and jostling onward as they approach their holy city for the Feast of the Passover. The colt brings Jesus through the fields surrounding the city’s limits and tears slowly begin to scrape down our Lord’s face.
He sees how close they are to Him and Him to them. He is here, just as God promised. But where are they? What are they seeking now?
For many he is invisible. A large population of Jews believed with sincerity that the messiah would be a warrior king and save the Jews through this kind of victory. Certainly the image of this great man upon a donkey would not impress upon them as the face their awaited messiah.
What exact image were they expecting? Were they right in having this expectation? Yes, somewhat. The Old Testament and the long Jewish history of deep faith interwoven with broken kingdoms lend itself to this desire for unification, stability and justice. Their interpretation of the messiah in light of their lives and longing makes sense.
Similarly, don’t we look to God to mend our own broken lives, perhaps even with specific ideas that we suggest to him in prayer, sometimes repeatedly?
I am not so different than the women of Jerusalem of 33 AD. The human soul persists. I too have fallen into the fallacy of trying to put God in a neat and predictable box. This desire may come from a good place of wanting peace and stability and to know God. Yet, in closing the lid on what I think God should and should not be allowing, I invariably close the lid on my faith. I stop seeing with the eyes of faith and start seeing with the eyes of men (or women).
This is the sadness that Jesus laments: If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. They will undergo destruction because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.
On days when I live my life with a vulnerable soul alert to the movements of the Holy Spirit, I see him all over. On days that I rush out the door and live from one active thought to the next, I do not see God. Rather, I see only myself. I become blind to God’s intimate handiwork in my days.
I know that what makes for peace in my life is asking God to show me the life he would have me lead that is pleasing to him. Pope Francis said on Vatican Radio on 9/1/15 that “Only the Holy Spirit has the power to open our hearts to God and his love…” Therefore, let us ask the Holy Spirit to turn our vision back toward him and begin to experience the grace and peace that awaits us there.
Prayer for an Open Heart
Adapted from Pope John Paul II, Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, come with me, stay with me, enter my heart, teach me your way and help me to follow. Help me make good choices so I may please you in all things.
Be my counselor and guide. You, who love justice, don’t let my words or actions bring harm to others. May my lack of knowledge never lead me away from you; may my accomplishments never cause me to trust myself above you; may my wants and needs never cause me to fail.
Hold me close to your heart in grace, so that in you I may never be far from the truth. May justice, guided by love, lead me in all things so that I may do nothing against your will.
Come, Holy Spirit. Come. Enter deep into the hearts of your people. May each of us be filled with your presence for the good of all, so that God may be all in all.
Holy Spirit, you who are our joy and peace, open our hearts and minds to God’s call to be people of goodness, truth, compassion and love.
Open our hearts and minds so we may show your love to others and all may come to know Christ, the True Light who has come into the world to offer every human being the sure hope of eternal life.
Amen.
