We will keep to the covenant of our ancestors

1 Macc. 2:15-29, Lk. 19:41-44. Today's first reading describes Mattathias' refusal to bend to the lure of the king and his officers, who want him and the other Jewish people to abandon their ways. The fidelity of Mattathias and his seven sons left an ideal of heroic resistance in Israel as ideal leader and an influencer as he refuses despite offers of riches and wealth. The old man would not succumb to bribery or fear, “We will keep to the covenant of our ancestors. God forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments.” Today, we are challenged to stand for whatever that is right and virtuous without prejudice to popular opinion. No matter how difficult this might be, only the path of peace remains the path desired by Christ. Due to popular opinion the people of the time of Jesus rejected the offer of salvation. Their rejection, however, leads to the loss of the sense in the sacred for the Temple which serves as a constant reminder to the people of the presence of God.

In today's Gospel, Jesus cried tears of sorrow because Jerusalem did not receive Him and did not recognise the decisive choice it needed to make. Jesus comes over the hill to the east of Jerusalem and starts to descend into the Kidron Valley. As He stood on platform on which the town of Bethany is built, He can see the beautiful Temple and the walled city of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. He laments at the destruction that will take place. The Temple dedicated to the worship of His Father will be destroyed and the Jewish people banned from the vicinity . Jesus is saddened when He reflects how things might have been different if only the whole of the Jewish nation had recognised Him for who He is – the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. The inhabitants had to live with the consequences of rejecting the Gospel. His grief was about a love that has been rejected. Jesus came to reveal God’s hospitable love for humanity, but many rejected the messenger of goodnews. Jesus cannot force Himself on people; when rejected, He could only move on. He came to seek and to save the lost, but we need to be open and responsive to His love. He walks with us and wants to bond with us, but we need to admit our need for Him.

May the Lord open our heart and spirit to the word and the love of God! Amen!! Good morning and have a wonderful day!!!