A determined commitment to hope

What a puzzling collection of verses our Gospel reading is – great for scholars to argue over, but not so easy for us mortals trying to make sense of it all. Maybe if we go back to Luke 9:51, where Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem we can get a handle on what might be happening. Last week we heard of Jesus sense of identity being tested by the Devil. This week other people either inadvertently or deliberately test both his sense of identity as a prophet and where that might lead him. Jesus is immersed in God’s commitment to hope and the way of love, and he is determinedly living that out. God sets his agenda and he will not be deterred.

That can only lead him to Jerusalem, and nothing will alter his course or timetable. Not Herod and his threats. Not Pharisees and their warnings. Not even the shadow of his death. His sense of who he is leads him there, to the city of peace; where heaven and earth touch in the temple; where God’s will might be done as in heaven; the symbol of all that God’s desires and cause of Divine lament for the ways hope, peace and love are left in the dust.

As we reflect on our identity as beloved daughters and sons of God: who sets our agenda? what are we determinedly committed to? for what might we lament?