If you do a web search for “the Day of the Lord,” you’ll find all kinds of end-of-the-world predictions. But if you carefully trace this theme throughout the story of the Bible, you’ll discover a very different picture.
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The anger of the LORD blazes against his people, he stretches out his hand to strike them; The mountains quake, their corpses shall be like refuse in the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned back, his hand is still outstretched. (Isaiah 5:25)
Yikes! Dead bodies in the streets? That’s a lot of anger. In the passage above Isaiah is warning Israel that God’s judgment is coming. In fact, the entire chapter is one long indictment against the people of Israel. They’ve become corrupt and arrogant, and God has had enough. Invading armies are coming and the result will be death and ultimately exile.
God’s anger understandably makes us uncomfortable. In fact, God’s anger is one of the main reasons people state for not liking the God of the Bible. But if we take a closer look at scripture about God’s anger, we will find a more complex and nuanced picture than we might assume.
To be an exile is to experience the devastating reality of being driven out of a secure place of belonging. Israel experienced exile under the Assyrians and most notably at the hand of the Babylonians. Especially in the Babylonian exile, the Israelites began to understand how they were called to rely on God in the midst of isolation and uncertainty. While we might never experience exile as a nation, each of us have know times of isolation and uncertainty.
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The gospel today is part of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. The revelation of the Transfiguration (Luke 9:27) marked the beginning and the arrival in Jerusalem will mark the end of the journey at the Cross. In between, the warnings and admonitions regarding the coming judgment that began with 12:1 reach their conclusion with a sobering call for repentance. Just as the debtor on the way to court (12:59) is warned to make every effort at reconciliation, so also Jesus uses the sayings about calamity in 13:1–5 and the parable of the unproductive fig tree in 13:6–9 to make the same point:
Next Sunday is the celebration of the Solemnity of All Saints. You can read a complete commentary on the Gospel here.
1 When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. 6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. (Matthew 5:1-12)
Today’s gospel continues Jesus’ encounter with the religious leadership of his day.
“When you see (a) cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain—and so it does; 55 and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot—and so it is.
The illustration (vv.54-55) seems to point to the weather patterns in the Near East. The Mediterranean Sea was to the west and winds from that direction brought rain. The desert was to the south and winds from that direction brought heat. Continue reading
“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Luke 12:49) Our gospel text is not one you find on many refrigerator doors or on greeting cards. The image of Jesus in these text is upsetting to one who only seeks the meek and mild Jesus. Having begun with an exhortation to courage in the face of tribulation, continuing with a warning against avarice in the face of fear, Jesus now raises the issue of judgment. The people are called to conversion before it is too late.
Throughout Luke 12 Jesus has continued to call for people to “see,” a message that has been present since the beginning of the mission of the 72 others in the beginning of Luke 10. A message made clear upon their return: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (Luke 10:23-24). Along the continuing journey to Jerusalem each person becomes an opportunity for Jesus to help them (and the crowds) to see more clearly, more richly: the scholar of the Law in Luke 10:25 ff; Martha and Mary (vv.38-42); the disciples in Luke 11, as well as the Pharisees in that same encounter; and Jesus continually speaks so that they will become “rich in what matters to God” (Luke 12:21). But in the end a decision is always needed. Continue reading
“Take care to guard against all greed” (Luke 12:15; from today’s gospel.) The text uses two verbs (horate & phylassesthe) in the present tense imperatives, i.e., continual action, in other words “continually take care” and “continually guard yourself from.” Perhaps this is a Lucan warning that the human condition is akin to alcoholics and their desire for alcohol, we are never cured of our greediness. We are always in recovery; always in need to watch out for and to guard ourselves from this evil power in our lives. Continue reading
Next Sunday is the celebration of the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. You can read a complete commentary on the Gospel here.
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them (a scholar of the law) tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40) Continue reading
Today’s daily readings for Mass can be found here. If you would like to read an introductory post for the reading this week, you can find that here.
Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.”46 And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.47 Woe to you! You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.48 Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building.49 Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’50 in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood! Continue reading
