19 October, 2023 | Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

 Gospel Lk 11:47-54

Get to know the Empowered Biblical Characters

The Lord said:

"Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets

whom your fathers killed.

Consequently, you bear witness and give consent

to the deeds of your ancestors,

for they killed them and you do the building.

Therefore, the wisdom of God said,

'I will send to them prophets and Apostles;

some of them they will kill and persecute'

in order that this generation might be charged

with the blood of all the prophets

shed since the foundation of the world,

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!

Woe to you, scholars of the law!

You have taken away the key of knowledge.

You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter."

When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees

began to act with hostility toward him

and to interrogate him about many things,

for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

Reflections:

Jesus loved the Pharisees, even though they appeared to be his enemies. His mission was to draw all people to himself, including the Pharisees. Jesus used the example of the rejection of the prophets as an illustration of the Pharisees’ hypocrisy and blindness. The wisdom of God, the Lord, was in their midst, yet they could not see him.  They sought to destroy Jesus rather than embrace his teaching and example.

We face similar choices in our lives. God wants to teach us every day through Jesus. Will we choose to follow him, or will we choose to interpret the scriptures and commands of God  to suit our own plans for life and desires? Will we choose to  let his new life reign in us, or instead let our old grudges and greed rule us? These are choices before us today.

Activity:

 Read the Word of God reflectively to know what it calls you to do.