Sept. 26,27

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Scripture: Lectionary 455: Zechariah 8:1-8. Psalm 102:16-18.19-21. Luke 9:46-50:

We are greeted with consoling words of joy and peace from Zechariah for now the complete assurance that the people of Israel will all return to Jerusalem and the Temple will be built. The passage exudes with hope for the future. True, it is only a remnant of the people who do return, but they will be blessed with a “new Jerusalem and a beautiful temple that will be known as one of the seven wonders of the world. God through the prophet Zechariah gives them and us this wonderful good news: “I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice.” In Hebrew the word for faithfulness is “emeth” which means a sure foundation, a true security; while justices (“tsedakah) is the whole spirit of Old Testament spirituality and is understood through the beatitudes which Jesus gives to us on the mount.

Psalm 102 contains the same good news about returning to Jerusalem. It is contagious for all the other nations become interested and want to cling to the hem of the Isaelite’s garment so as to go up with them to pray in the holy city. The thought and imagery is beautiful and convincing. We all should have such a desire to pray and to go up to Jerusalem with the Lord. Zion, the special place in Jerusalem, that was established by David is to be shared with all the tribes—twelve in number. Luke will take this up, too, in his outlook of universalism when it comes to the Good News Jesus is proclaiming about the kingdom of heaven. A messianic flavor is present in this psalm and it carries over into the spirit of the New Testament.

Jesus, the Anointed One, the Messiah gives us words of wisdom in the short passage for the day. By welcoming and caring for the children with tenderness and purity of heart enables us to become partners with those children who represent the kingdom of God on earth. These little ones are to be protected by all of us with care and pure love—for such are those made for the kingdom of God.

Jesus adds more wisdom when he scolds his angry apostles who want to do harm to the Samaritans who do not want them to pass through their territory to take a short-cut to Jerusalem. Anyone who is not against us is for us. Jesus is so down to earth and practical when it comes to any moral issue. We do well to respect his wisdom and live it out in our daily actions and words to others especially those who are not against us. We need his grace to do this to those who are really against us, but that grace is there for the asking. Amen.

456.doc

Scripture: Lectionary 456: Zechariah 8:20-23. Psalm 87:1-3.4-5.6-7. Luke 9:51-56

Jerusalem is a type of fifth gospel for all Christian believers. Luke, of course, is the Evangelist who cherishes this city and says the most about it in his Gospel. It starts with the holy city as the location where the Good News begins and Jerusalem will be the central part of the Journey up to the holy city. In the Acts of the Apostles, the beginning of the Church starts in Jerusalem and will be the last point of reference before Paul sets us for his martyrdom in Rome. Jerusalem fits in well with the universalism of Luke who wishes all nations to be a part of the Good News.

Even though the Samaritans do not allow Jesus and his apostles to go through their territory, the journey goes on thus giving Jesus more time to instruct his apostles on the long way up to the holy city. The Journey Narrative will cover almost ten chapters in Luke! Jesus corrects his apostles and has them move on to other villages and towns who have not experienced Jesus and his proclamation of the good news.

In the Psalm Response and the continuation of the words of the Prophets Zechariah the holy city is again mentioned. Psalm 87 captures the same idea of others attaching themselves to the Israelites who are going up to the Temple; they, the people from other lands want to hang on to the hem of the garment and join the Israelite in prayers and in the pilgrimage. Zion is often mentioned in the Psalms and the great spirit of prayer and pilgrimage are connected with those psalms that do mention the city, the temple, and Jerusalem. Zechariah’s message is very much the same as these Psalms of Zion.

The Holy Family is said to have gone up to Jerusalem each year. Luke brings this out. We can understand how Mary then became known in our tradition as the Daughter of Zion because of the prophetic words of Joel, Zechariah, and Zephaniah are echoed in the salutation of the Angel Gabriel who is the angel mentioned in Luke’s Annunciation account. Amen.