Reading
Luke 19:41-44
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Comment
Jesus is descending from the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem and admiring the city and its Temple he breaks down in tears. The Greek verb used here by Luke - klaio - is different from the one used to describe the weeping in front of the tomb of Lazarus - dakryo. It is not simply a question of emotion, but of a true prophetic lament.
By not accepting the one who brings peace, Jerusalem will not be able to find peace and will be the victim of devastation. Yet Jesus will soon be welcomed triumphally on his entry into the city. But he sees the superficiality of the hearts of the crowds and the denial that will be consumed in the hours of passion.
Jerusalem will be destroyed in AD 70 by Tito Flavio Vespasiano, during the first Jewish revolt. After a long siege, the city will be put to the sword and razed to the ground; also the Temple, which the Jews trusted, as the place of the presence of God, and who would ensure protection to him, will be destroyed.
Jesus' words are not only a sad testimony of the tragic consequences for Jerusalem for rejecting him as Christ. We too are called to recognize the time when the grace of God comes to visit us, the one who has come to "to guide our feet into the path of peace" (Lk 1:79); the only one that can guarantee the truce to our hearts, surrounded by siege by the inner turmoil and by the powers of this world.
Prayer
O Lord, give us peace, not as the world gives it, but as your Spirit gives it; that we may be faithful to you in every tribulation. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
