Homily for Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time (Year 2).
(Going through some old files, I came upon this reflection from my days studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.)
Today’s gospel is a difficult one to hear, frankly, because Jesus is not very nice. Building off of yesterday’s condemnation of the Pharisees as self-serving, Jesus today accuses them of complicity in the murder of the prophets. On the surface of it, his argument is not even particularly fair. Not only are the opponents he addresses guilty of murder, but they are charged “with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world.” One yearns for the moderation of a good old-fashioned political attack ad.
One is tempted to whisper in Jesus’ ear, “Don’t you know you aren’t going to get anywhere by condemning people.” “You can’t just beat people over the head with the truth.” “All this fire and brimstone really isn’t that pastoral.” I could stand up here and try to spin Jesus’ words into something inoffensive, but they are offensive. In fact we know they are offensive because at the end of Jesus’ speech, the scribes and Pharisees plot to kill him. And you don’t try to kill someone for words that while perhaps a tad exaggerated, really are basically calls just to be nice. No one has ever suffered martyrdom over Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Continue reading “Jesus’ not-so-nice message”
