The first part of today’s Gospel (Luke 13:31-35) corrects some wrong images. First of all, we usually imagine the Pharisees to be enemies of Jesus. Most of them were, but there were also others who were worried about the safety of Jesus. They came to warn Him.
Then we usually imagine Jesus as very meek and soft. Today we hear how He uses bad words when He called Herod Antipas, the powerful ruler of Galilee, a fox, an expression of slyness, of cunning.
Jesus’ mood then changes. From anger and defiance, it turns to sadness. As a pious Jew, Jesus must have loved Jerusalem, the holy city, the place where the Temple, the House of His Father, stood.
From history He knew only too well that Jerusalem never lived up to its reputation as “holy city.” How many prophets had come and warned them to repent but were persecuted like Jeremiah, and even killed like other prophets? Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed already once, more than 500 years ago, a punishment for the sins of idolatry, injustice, corruption and oppression of the poor, as the prophets interpreted the catastrophe.
Jesus remembers the time He, like the prophets of old, had preached in Jerusalem and tried to turn the people from evil to a God-pleasing life — in vain! The image of the mother hen protecting her chicks under her wings is touching. What a pity that artists have never developed this beautiful picture.
Before we shake our heads at the stubbornness of Jerusalem’s people, I wonder what Jesus would say if He would speak about us. How many times have we been told to change our lives, to repent? How many times have we been told that just saying prayers and outward signs of piety will not save us? How many times have we been told that it is not enough to love God but that we love God most when we love our neighbor in need? Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem could be a lament over His followers in the 21st century.
