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, 2024
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Reflection
On entering Jerusalem, Jesus’ disciples greet him, proclaiming, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.” When the Pharisees ask him to make his disciples stop, Jesus says in the verse before today’s gospel, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” (Lk 19:40)
In today’s passage, Jesus announces that these same stones—the very ones that would have announced God’s presence—will not be left even one upon the other. All will be destroyed, for Christ’s own people “did not recognize the time of (their) visitation” from God.
In the words of St. John, “He came into his own, and his own received him not.” (Jn 1:11) And so Jesus laments, not for his own fate but the fate of those who refuse to know him. “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!” And yet, this “visitation,” is not only, as the prophets announced it would be, a time of punishment. It is also a time of exaltation.
Wisdom tells us that “In the time of their visitation (the righteous) will shine forth … .Those who trust in (God) will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.” (Wis 3:7,9)
The toppled stones of the earthly city of Jerusalem give way to “living stones,” (1 Pt 2:5) the beloved of Christ who are “built together … into a dwelling place for God.” (Eph 2:22) The time of our visitation has already come—Christ is with us! How is it that we might proclaim, in our own lives and in our own ways, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”?
Prayer
Gentle Jesus, I have absolutely no doubt that you are weeping over the state of our world, country, and church. 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 I know they exist in my own heart and mind also. Jesus, I pray not only for my own conversion to your ways but also for the conversion of my country and our church. Amen.
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!
