Doing justice and loving kindness draw Jesus to Jerusalem. He passed his test in the desert. Now he's on the Way.
Mosaic on the Altar in Dominus Flevit Church on the Mt of Olives. Dominus Flevit translates as the 'the Lord's Cry.'
Luke 13:(22-30)31-35
Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
4 comments:
Acting justly and with loving kindness are hard pavement beneath his feet.
The gentleness of "How I've longed..." gives way to "You will not see me again until..." Jesus yearns to comfort, but what he apparently intends is to stir things up. Kindness presenting not as consolation but provocation.
How often in life does anyone take us seriously enough to challenge us with kind provocation?
Definitely relational language that doesn't allow for non-participation. Everyone's accountable, because everyone counts
According to Borg & Crossan, "Taken together [the triumphal entry and the prophetic action at the temple], and they must be taken together, those action-word combinations proclaim the already present kingdom of God against both the already present Roman imperial power and the already present Jewish high-priestly collaboration. Jerusalem had to be retaken by a nonviolent messiah rather than by a violent revolution, and the temple ritual had to empower justice rather than excuse one from it." (The Last Week, p 53)
Every one counts. And everyone needs at least a glimpse of what they're accountable for and why it's worth it.
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