JESUS RESOLUTELY TOOK THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Tuesday 30 September 2014.

JESUS RESOLUTELY TOOK THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “As the time drew near for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely took the road to Jerusalem and sent messengers ahead of him’” (Luke 9:51-56)

Reflection. I always find this a striking sentence in the middle of Luke’s gospel. Suddenly the shadow of Jerusalem and all that would happen to Jesus there looms up. You become aware that Jesus knew all along that he had to “go to Jerusalem.” His disciples accompany him “in a daze” (Mark 10:32). They have no idea what was happening. But Jesus knew. He knew that he had to confront “the powers.” These powers were first of all the Jewish leaders and the Romans; but at a deeper level it was the powers of darkness. He would confront them and they would do everything to destroy him. But they would fail. And he would triumph. And his triumph would be our triumph. But only if we too “resolutely set our face” towards the challenges of our time. It calls for an act of will, a decision, on our part but it also calls for using our minds to work out what is our Jerusalem, the challenge we face. We cannot be vague about it if are to engage with it.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, help me to know not just the challenges I face but also the ways in which I can engage with them and so, with your grace, triumph over them. Amen..  

David Harold-Barry SJ