Trong bài tin mừng hôm nay, Thánh Luca cho
chúng ta thấy rằng những người Biệt Phái không phải là những người xấu cả và
cũng có một số ít trong số những người biệt phái này đã có cảm tình với Chúa
Giêsu và đến báo cho Ngài biết về mối nguy hại sẽ xẩy đến với Ngài. Không cần
nghi ngờ, chúng ta đều biết không phải tất cả những người Biệt Phái là thánh cả,
như trong phần trước của bài tin mừng hôm nay, Thánh Luca, đã cho chúng ta nghe
Chúa Giêsu giảng: " Anh em đừng xét đoán, thì anh em sẽ không bị Thiên
chúa xét đoán." (Lk.6 : 37).
Người Biệt Phái là những người rất sùng đạo.
Lỗi của họ là vì họ đã quá đạo đức và quá thận trọng với cái vỏ bề ngoài của luật
lệ, nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã không chỉ trích họ về những điều đó. Cái sai lầm lớn nhất
của họ là họ để tự rơi vào cái bẫy mà họ thường xuyên phải đối mặt đó là tự cho
mình là những người đạo đức, rồi đâm cuồng tín và tỉ mỉ. Sự nhiệt tình của họ dễ
dàng trở nên cố chấp, không biết khoan dung. Họ đã sẵn sàng áp đặt gánh nặng
lên mọi người sự nghiêm ngặt, khắt khe trong các lề luật Thiên Chúa theo cách
riêng của họ, mà họ quên rằng Thiên Chúa là đấng đầy lòng nhân từ, thương xót
và dịu hiền, bởi vì Ngài biết không phải tất cả chúng ta luôn luôn có thể sống
và tuân giữ từng những chi tiết nhõ trong lề luật của Thiên Chúa để đạt được lý
tưởng trong sự thánh thiện.
Trong bài thánh thư gởi cho Ê-phê-sô chúng
ta đọc hôm nay, Thánh Phaolô thúc giục chúng ta nên dùng chân lý sự thật, công
bằng và lòng nhiệt thành để truyền bá Tin Mừng hòa bình của Chúa. Chúng ta có
thể có được lòng nhiệt thành, sốt sắng như những người Biệt Phái, nhưng lòng
nhiệt thành của chúng ta phải được sinh động bởi sự thật và công lý, vì chúng
ta phục vụ Tin Mừng bình an của Thiên Chúa.
Lạy Chúa Cha trên trời, sự kiên nhẫn của
Chúa chính là cơ hội cho chúng con được cứu rỗi. Xin Chúa ban cho chúng con một
tinh thần kiên nhẫn khoan dung, khiêm nhường và rèn tôi lòng nhiệt thành của
chúng con trong sự thật và công bằng.
Thursday -30th Week in Ordinary Time (Rom.
8:31-39)
Luke shows us that the Pharisees were not
evil men and that at least some of them were sympathetic to Jesus and warned
him of danger. No doubt, not every single Pharisee was a saint, but earlier in
this chapter 13 of Luke’s gospel we heard Jesus’ teaching: “Do not judge and
you will not be judged yourselves” (Lk.6:36). The Pharisees were very religious
people. Their fault was that they were too religious and scrupulous, but that
did not of itself merit Jesus’ criticism of them. Their greatest fault was that
they fell into the trap frequently facing such over-religious and scrupulous
people: their zeal easily become intolerance. They easily imposed on others
their own strict fidelity to the Law of God, forgetting that God is merciful
and kind since not all of us can always in every single detail attain to the
ideal of holiness.
Today’s passage from Ephesians urges us to
use truth, justice and zeal to propagate the Gospel of peace. We may be as
zealous as the Pharisees, but our zeal must be animated by truth and justice,
for we serve the Gospel of peace.
Heavenly Father, Your patience is our
opportunity to be saved. Grant us a spirit of patience and tolerance and temper
our zeal with truth and justice
Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary
Time 2026
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the
prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were
unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned. But I tell you, you will not
see me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord.” Luke
13:34–35
In today’s Gospel,
Jesus laments Jerusalem’s tragic history of persecuting the prophets sent by
God to call His people back to fidelity. The deaths of Zechariah and Isaiah
stand out, but the broader implication is that Jerusalem—the city of the Temple
and the seat of divine worship—had often become the very place where divine
truth was violently rejected. In lamenting this, Jesus reveals His deep love
for His people and foreshadows His own death at their hands, which would also
take place in Jerusalem.
Of note, Jesus’
words drip with holy sorrow and compassion, but also resolute clarity. Though
He offers a condemnation in the form of a prophetic warning—that the Temple
would ultimately be destroyed and the city overtaken by the Romans in AD 70—His
tone is one of loving lament, not vengeful retribution.
In many ways,
Jesus’ lament is that of a loving father mourning a wayward son: “How many
times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood
under her wings.” Understanding this compassion in His Sacred Heart is
especially helpful to us as we examine our own struggles with sin. Though God
is perfectly just, His judgments are issued with a broken heart, not a violent
one.
When you consider
your sins, examine them through this lens. See Jesus’ Sacred Heart pierced with
a sword of profound sorrow. When we turn back to Him, we console Him and
relieve Him of that sorrow. Though we can add nothing to God’s greatness and
glory on our own, we do have the capacity to fill Him with joy when we repent
and diligently strive to overcome sin in our lives.
Recognizing this
spiritual reality is the highest form of the spiritual Gift of Fear of the
Lord. This gift of the Holy Spirit manifests itself in two ways. First, Fear of
the Lord begins with what we traditionally call servile fear—that is, fear of
punishment. Consider again a son who obeys his father because he fears being
punished. This is a good beginning, but it is not the ideal.
The ideal form of
Fear of the Lord is filial fear—the fear of a loving son or daughter. This fear
does not avoid sin for selfish reasons, such as fear of punishment. Rather, it
leads us to avoid sin because we perceive the tender compassion in Jesus’ Sacred
Heart and become vividly aware of the sorrow our sin inflicts upon Him. What’s
more, we also see the joy we can give Him by remaining faithful to His will.
Our love for Him grows so strong that we are compelled to do all we can to give
Him joy. His joy becomes ours, and we “fear” doing anything that would oppose
that joy.
Though the Gift of
Fear of the Lord primarily inspires us to console Jesus’ Heart, it also enables
us to extend His love toward others. When this gift is alive in us, we look at
those around us with the same compassion and tenderness that Jesus expressed
over Jerusalem. We do not take their sins personally but share in the holy
sorrow of Jesus’ Heart, longing for their conversion.
Reflect today on
Jesus’ Sacred Heart as He looks at you with sorrowful love. Hear Him say, “How
often I have longed to gather you.” Let that invitation move you to turn away
from all that saddens Him and to cling to Him with fidelity and love. As you
do, look also to those in your life who struggle with sin, and allow yourself
to feel the same longing that Jesus has for them. Be an instrument of His
Sacred Heart toward others, and you will ultimately share in His joy.
Most compassionate
Lord, You long for Your children with the tenderest love, desiring that we turn
to You with all our hearts. Please fill me with the Gift of Holy Fear, so that
I may readily and wholeheartedly avoid all that grieves You. Make me an instrument
of Your Sacred Heart toward others, so that through me, they may come to feel
and know Your loving care. Jesus, I trust in You
Thursday -30th Week in Ordinary Time 2026
Opening Prayer: Heavenly
Father, I marvel at the mystery of your saving love. Even when we turn away
from you, you do not abandon us but send your Son to rescue us from sin and
death. Open my heart to your mercy, keep me faithful to your will, and guide me
on the journey that leads me home to you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Jesus’ Purpose: The Pharisees are
often portrayed in the Gospels as opponents of Jesus, but in today’s passage,
some of them warn him that Herod wants to kill him. Their motives are
uncertain. They may be genuinely concerned for Jesus, or they may be attempting
to frighten him into leaving. Whatever their intentions, Jesus makes clear that
neither Herod’s threats nor anyone else’s schemes will determine the course of
his mission. He is committed to accomplishing the will of his heavenly Father.
Jesus calls Herod a fox, perhaps a reference to Herod’s craft or destructive
character (see Song 2:15), but also to his relative insignificance, as he is no
kingly lion (Proverbs 20:2). Yet Herod’s power cannot thwart God’s plan. Jesus
must continue his work of casting out demons and healing the sick before
proceeding to Jerusalem, where he will fulfill his mission. His journey is not
dictated by fear but guided by obedience to the Father. Jesus declares that he
will accomplish his purpose on the third day. Although this expression may
refer generally to the completion of his work, Christians can also recognize in
it an anticipation of his Resurrection. Jesus will suffer and die in Jerusalem,
but death will not have the final word. Through his Passion, Death, and
Resurrection, he will accomplish the saving purpose for which he came into the
world. We, too, may encounter opposition, uncertainty, and threats that tempt
us to abandon the path God has set before us. Jesus teaches us to remain
faithful rather than allow fear to dictate our decisions. Our task is not to
control every circumstance but to trust the Father and faithfully fulfill the
mission he has entrusted to us.
2. The Love That Longs to Gather Us: Jesus’ journey to
Jerusalem reveals the depth of God’s love for his people. He knows that the
city will reject him, yet he does not turn away from it. Instead, he laments:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her
brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!” The image of a mother hen
gathering her chicks conveys tenderness, protection, and intimacy. Jesus
desires to draw his people close to himself, shelter them from danger, and
bring them into the safety of God's covenant love. His lament recalls the
prophets whom God repeatedly sent to call Israel back to faithfulness. Again
and again, the Lord reached out to his people, even when they refused to
listen. Jesus’ words also reveal the painful mystery of human freedom. God’s
love is constant, but he does not force us to receive it. The tragedy of
Jerusalem is not that God has ceased to love his people but that they have
resisted the very love that seeks to save them. Their refusal will lead to
judgment and the abandonment of their house. Yet Jesus’ lament is not simply a
pronouncement of condemnation. It is the cry of divine love over those who are
lost. The Lord continues to desire our conversion and reconciliation, even when
we have wandered far from him. He calls us to examine our own hearts: Where are
we resisting his grace? What attachments, prejudices, or sins prevent us from
allowing him to gather us beneath his wings? We should never presume that God’s
mercy makes conversion unnecessary, nor should we despair as though our sins
could extinguish his desire to save us. Instead, we must respond to his love
with humble repentance, trusting that he longs to bring us home.
3. The New House of God: Jesus’ lament over
Jerusalem also looks toward the fulfillment of God's plan for his people. The
city had been the center of Israel’s worship, and its Temple was the visible
sign of God’s dwelling among his people. Yet Jerusalem had repeatedly resisted
the prophets sent to call it back to the Lord. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah,
and Ezekiel warned of judgment, but they also proclaimed hope: God would
restore his people, establish a New Covenant, and dwell among them in a renewed
way. When Jesus declares, “Behold, your house will be abandoned,” he
anticipates the judgment that will fall upon Jerusalem. His words point beyond
the immediate rejection he will suffer to the profound transition brought about
through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. The old Temple will not remain
the definitive center of God’s saving presence. In Christ, God is establishing
something greater. This transition is best understood in terms of fulfillment
rather than a replacement. Jesus does not abandon God’s promises to Israel; he
brings them to their intended fulfillment. Through his Death and Resurrection,
he inaugurates the New Covenant and gathers God’s people into a renewed
communion with himself. The Church, founded by Christ and enlivened by the Holy
Spirit, is the seed and beginning of the New Jerusalem, the household of God in
which believers are united to Christ and to one another. Saint Paul teaches
that we are members of God’s household, built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone (Ephesians
2:19–22). We are also living stones being built into a spiritual house (1 Peter
2:4–5). This is an extraordinary privilege, but it is also a responsibility. We
are called to become a people in whom God’s presence is made visible through
faith, holiness, mercy, and love. The Lord who longed to gather Jerusalem’s
children beneath his wings continues to gather his people into his Church. Let
us not resist his invitation or take our place in his household for granted.
Rather, let us allow him to make us living stones in his spiritual house, so
that others may discover in us the welcoming and saving love of God.
Thursday -30th Week in Ordinary Time
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the
prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were
unwilling!” Luke 13:34
It’s helpful to
ponder the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His heart is one that is strong and gentle,
compassionate and just, merciful and truthful. In this Gospel passage, we are
given a glimpse of Jesus’ love for the people of Jerusalem. He was not
expressing His love for the city, but for the people in the city. It is clear
that His deepest desire, His strong yearning, was that they allow Him to draw
them close to Him so that He can protect them from all evil.
Jesus begins by
speaking the word “Jerusalem” twice. This expresses deep compassion for the
people of that city. It also expresses a lament that they have not turned to
Him, remaining unwilling to change. Their refusal began long before Jesus
walked the earth when their forefathers rejected the call of the prophets to
repent and turn back to God. The stubbornness of their fathers continued with
the people of Jesus’ day, and He experienced their rejection. This rejection
did not lead Jesus to anger or condemnation as much as it led Him to holy
sorrow.
The image of a hen
gathering her brood under her wings is a lovely image to meditate upon. A
mother hen protects her chicks with great courage and without concern for her
own safety. When danger approaches, she extends her wings and covers the
vulnerable chicks to protect them. Jesus uses this motherly image to express
His desire to protect not only the people of Jerusalem, but all of us.
If Jesus yearned
to gather the people together under his “wings” to protect them, then we should
know, with certainty, that we need our Lord’s protection. He would not desire
something that was unnecessary. He is not an overly protective God Who irrationally
worries about His children. His concern is real and necessary, and we must know
that we need His protection.
As you go about
your daily life, do you feel as though you can handle life on your own? Do you
act as an independent child who wants to separate yourself from the safety of
your parents? Though we must all work to become responsible in life, we will
never arrive at a point where we no longer need the protection of our loving
God. The world in which we live is filled with dangers from which only God can
protect us.
At the beginning
of today’s Gospel, Jesus referred to Herod as a “fox.” That image must be seen
in the context of Jesus desiring to act as a mother hen, protecting her brood.
Jesus was told that Herod was trying to kill Him, but He clearly was not afraid
of Herod. Of Herod’s desire to kill Jesus, Jesus said, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on
the third day I accomplish my purpose.’” As a protector, Jesus took authority
over demons, performed healings and opened the gates of Heaven by rising from
the dead on the third day. As we go through life, there will be many demons who
seek to attack us. We will need many forms of healing, and without the gift of
Jesus’ triumph over death itself, we will not be led to the glories of Heaven.
Demons are real. Wounds are real. And the need for a Savior is real.
Reflect, today,
upon the image of Jesus acting as a mother hen, extending His wings over you to
protect you from the many temptations and diabolical attacks you will encounter
in this world. Ponder the fact that you need His daily protection. The demons will
never stop their attacks. Mental, emotional and spiritual wounds need His
healing. Jesus is the only one Who can protect you and heal you so that He can
then pour forth the gift of eternal life. Remain under His protective care, and
allow Him to fulfill the yearnings of His Sacred Heart.
My compassionate
Lord, You yearn to protect me from the many evils in this world. You yearn to
heal me of the wounds my sins have caused. And You yearn to bestow upon me the
gift of eternal life. I accept Your protection, dear Lord, and pray for the
healing I need. Please cover me always and bestow upon me the gift of eternal
life. Jesus, I trust in You.
