Reflection on the Gospel of the Tuesday In The Thirty-Fourth Week In Ordinary Time |
Luke 21:5-11 |
In this entire passage there are two prophecies/instructions mixed… and the Gospel writer is saying both these in the same breath, and that is why, we may confuse them as being one prophecy.
The second prophecy is about the end times (verse 9 onwards), when the time for everything to be judged, when grace will be at its highest point of availability for people to see for themselves, acknowledge and repent of their ways.
I would like to reflect on the first prophecy, which tells us when the old must cease and the new has to take place. You can read Jesus’ words to the Samaritan Woman (John 4) here, ‘A time is coming, and is at hand, when everyone will worship God in Spirit and in Truth. What our current passage is telling us is that with the Rightful Temple – Jesus taking his place amongst his people, there will be no need of a temple for worship of God. Because then He will reside in the hearts of those who seek Him in Spirit and Truth.
We need to understand the great judgement of AD 70, when the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, within the light of this realty of Jesus being God. Though the Jews were given sufficient time and space to acknowledge the Theophany of His presence amongst His people in and through the incarnation, suffering, death and resurrection of his Son – Jesus the Christ, they failed to do so.
Reflect then; God who is love is making himself available to us in many ways… Have we allowed Him to make His home in us? If we have failed to do this, we self condemn ourselves, through we putting on blindfolds of pride and conceit.
