26th Friday in Ordinary time, October 6, 2023
Bar 1:13-22; Ps 79:1-5,8-9; Lk 10:13-16
“Justice is with the Lord, our God, and we today are flushed with shame.” Ouch. That is pretty harsh. The prophet Baruch goes on and slams the Israelites for their failure to follow God’s ways. Now in defense of them, they were being held in captivity and were being forced to do many things that were against their own nature, but that still did not excuse their behavior. Baruch lays it on pretty heavy, “We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God, nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us.” So goes the guilt they all feel when choosing to not follow God’s ways. Even Jesus speaks of condemnation for Chorazin and Bethsaida in our gospel reading today. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!” So what’s going on here?
Well, it is all about the choices we make in our lives and our willingness to reject the bad environment around us. The Israelites all had opportunities to hear Him, and time and time again, they refuse to listen. Jesus rarely gives a harsh condemnation but when things get bad enough, He speaks the truth. To the point of warning them if they do not repent, they will end up in the netherworld. The Israelites were struggling, not only during the exiles, but also when Jesus started His ministry; it is no wonder God sent Jesus down to save us. The world was a mess.
Guess what? We can look around today and see that the world is a mess as well. Given that, what choices are we making right now? Are we listening to the world telling us to abandon our faith, much like the Babylonians told the Israelites? Are we not seeing the mighty deeds our God has done for us today and acknowledging them? If not, woe to us. We have brought down the punishment we deserve. We have listened but have not heard.
It sounds bleak, but it is not. Our Psalmist cries out, “For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.” Yes, deliver us from all the influences the world has to throw at us. From Psalm 79: “Deliver us from our past mistakes and bad choices we have made. Remember not the iniquities of our past, may your compassion quickly come to us. Help us, O God our Savior, because of the glory of your name; deliver us and pardon our sins for your names sake.”
Saint James Catholic Church 