Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
November 21, 2019
As Jesus came near and saw the Jerusalem, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
“Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”
On the first read, this is a dismal and difficult passage. Jesus’ words are a warning, meant to jolt us out of apathetic and lazy habits.
But after a second or third pass, one might catch the powerful message of hope. Jesus wept for us. He aches for us – for me. My God desperately desires to save me from destruction.
I can feel Jesus’ emotion and concern for me. He wants to save me from the enemy, but something is preventing him from doing so – my laziness, apathy, vice, sin, selfishness, and pride. Why did I kill time on my phone before bed instead of praying? Why did I snooze my alarm clock instead of helping my wife take care of our kids? Why did I lash out at my mom?
Jesus’ words about Jerusalem suggest that the way to peace is already within my grasp. It must be agonizing for Christ to watch me carry on in ignorance of the danger that awaits me. How painful must it be when I turn away from the vast love and mercy that he offers?
What does accepting Jesus’ grace look like in my daily life? Well, I’m unlikely to hear Christ’s voice if I don’t ever stop and listen – I need to commit to daily prayer time. How can I expect to receive grace if I don’t participate in the overflowing sources that he offers: Confession, Eucharist, Adoration. I am never going to grow in strength and virtue if I don’t willingly carry out even my basic duties and obligations as a husband and father.
Jesus describes what awaits me if I do not turn away from daily sin to look toward him for strength and protection. The enemies will “crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another.”
Fortunately, I know from this passage that Jesus longs to give me peace, if only I will allow him the opportunity.
Prayer
Dear Lord, as it was in Jerusalem of your time, so it is with us today: your Word of peace, unity, and reconciliation goes unheard and unheeded. The walls of hostility and division are strong, and we know they exist in our own hearts and minds also. We pray not only for our own conversion to your ways, but also for the conversion of our nation and our Church.
Saint of the Day
Today, the Church celebrates Mary's presentation in the Temple. Although there are no scriptural or historical accounts of this particular event, it is a feast that has profound theological symbolism and has been important for Christians since the earliest days of Christianity.
An early written account that contains many key stories of Mary's childhood come from a piece of early Christian writing called the Protoevangelium of James also called The Gospel of James or The Infancy Gospel of James. In the Protoevangelium, the author draws on many Old Testament tropes to connect Mary's birth and childhood with the holy men and women of Israel's sacred heritage. Anne and Joachim, Mary's parents are devout Jews who are childless. Joachim is shunned for his infertility and Anne weeps, lamenting her barrenness, which has caused them deep shame. An angel appears to her and tells her that she will conceive a child. Anne vows in that very moment to dedicate her child, male or female, to the Lord in the Temple. Soon after, Joachim and Anne conceive. They are overjoyed, and, eventually, Anne bears a girl who they name Mary. Soon after Mary's birth, Anne takes Mary to the Temple to present her to the Lord and dedicate her daughter’s life to God.
The feast is important because not only does it connect Mary's parents Joachim and Anne to righteous figures from Scripture, like Abraham and Sarah, it also draws a close parallel between Mary’s life and Jesus', as the Church celebrates the feast of Jesus’ own Presentation in the Temple (Lk 2:22-38), on February 2nd. Because Mary is the first and greatest disciple, a model of faith, her life is depicted as an intimate imitation of Christ's.
Furthermore, the feast draws the close connection between Mary and the Temple. The Temple was believed by the Jewish people to be the place where God's glory, the Shekinah, dwelled on earth. Mary, who will house God-made-flesh in her body, is the new Temple, the new Ark of the Covenant, the location of God's presence on earth for nine months in her body and throughout her whole life as she walked in unwavering faithfulness with God. For, in the words of St. Augustine, "it was for [Mary] a greater thing to have been Christ's disciple than to have been his mother, and she was more blessed in her discipleship than in her motherhood. Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb him whom she would obey as her master."
Indeed, from the beginning of her life, through the grace of her Immaculate Conception, Mary cooperated fully with God's grace. This cooperation with God came to fruition in her acceptance of Gabriel's message at the Annunciation, leading to God's incarnation in the world. We, like Mary, are called to live as God’s holy temples, to bear Christ into the world as Mary did.
Mary’s presentation in the Temple is represented in a stained glass window in the Basilica of Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus. In the window, shown in today's featured image, Anne and Joachim present her to the temple priest.
Mary, whose dedication to God allowed her to become God’s living temple—pray for us!