Luke 9:51-56

Zechariah 8:20-23

Psalm 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7

Luke 9:51-56

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,

he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,

and he sent messengers ahead of him.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village

to prepare for his reception there,

but they would not welcome him

because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven

to consume them?”

Jesus turned and rebuked them,

and they journeyed to another village.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you sent your Son into the world not to condemn it but to save it. You know what I need to welcome your Son into my life. I desire that you dwell in my heart and reign there. Protect me from all that would separate me from you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Return of the King: Today, we begin a new section in the Gospel of Luke, known as the “travel narrative.” In Luke 9:51, Luke signals a change in the narrative: “When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” When Luke says that Jesus “set his face,” it means to do something with fixed determination. “This phrase is sometimes used by the Old Testament prophets (see Ezekiel 21:2) when they have to do something exceedingly difficult. From this point on, Jesus will be ‘on the way’ to Jerusalem. He knows what is awaiting him there, and he knows the opposition that will follow him as he tries to lead people to the true Kingdom of God, rather than the kingdom of man that many promote” (Powell, Walking with Christ, 57). During the next ten chapters of Luke’s Gospel (ch. 10-19), Jesus will be walking toward Jerusalem. This is where Jesus’ New Exodus will take place. The scenes on the way to Jerusalem all relate to the return of the King. “There is both a positive and a negative sense to this return. It is positive for those who will follow Jesus and experience the new exodus from sin, slavery, and death that Jesus has promised. For those who oppose and reject Jesus, however, there will be consequences. 

2. The New Exodus: “Because the return of the king is the overarching theme of the next ten chapters, we will see many stories and parables about people returning home, masters coming back from journeys, and things that were lost being recovered” (Powell, Walking with Christ, 61). The exodus of Israel from slavery in Egypt to freedom provides the background to Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Israel’s journey led to the acquisition of the earthly Promised Land and Israel’s eventual growth into a kingdom. Jesus’ journey enables us to enter the heavenly Promised Land and establishes the Kingdom of God, which will grow like a small mustard seed into a great tree that welcomes the birds of all nations. In the first exodus, God revealed himself to Israel as not only their creator but also their redeemer. In Jesus’ New Exodus, he reveals himself as the eternal Son who was sent by the Father to redeem all humanity. That is the positive side of the exodus story. But there is also a dark side: the first exodus also led to Israel’s downfall. “When the firstborn son rejects his Father in exchange for an idol of a golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai, the rebellion sends Israel into a downward spiral of sin. This history is also in the background as Jesus now makes a new journey to the heart of Israel’s Promised Land. The ‘way’ of the Exodus, with all its implications of slavery and freedom, will now be overlayed onto the ‘way’ of the Cross. On this way, Jesus will take on the consequences of Israel’s rejection of God’s Fatherhood and demonstrate the lengths to which God will go to save his children” (Powell, Walking with Christ, 62).

3. Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ: The prophets Haggai and Zechariah both encouraged the people to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. In our First Reading, Zechariah envisions the Gentile nations coming to Jerusalem to seek the Lord God. In an earlier vision, Zechariah saw the Gentiles becoming members of God’s covenant people (Zechariah 2:11). In a later vision, he will see them coming as pilgrims to Jerusalem to serve the Lord as King (Zechariah 14:16-17). Here, Zechariah “envisions the conversion of the nations as an event simultaneous with the homecoming of Israel’s exiles” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1615). Sometimes it can be hard for us to understand the importance of the Old Testament. We can easily think that we just need the four Gospels to know about Jesus. On this memorial of St. Jerome, however, we are reminded that being ignorant of Scripture – including the Old Testament – leads to ignorance of Christ. As Pope Francis recently wrote on the anniversary of Jerome’s passing: “Jerome teaches us that not only should the Gospels and the apostolic Tradition present in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Letters be studied and commented on, but that the entire Old Testament is indispensable for understanding the truth and the riches of Christ” (Francis, Apostolic Letter Scripturae sacrae affectus).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, I long to see your Kingdom definitively established and your return in glory. I struggle to overcome sin and evil in my life, but I trust in you, knowing you are at my side.

Living the Word of God: How can I be inspired by the example of Saint Jerome to spend more time with the written Word of God? What holds me back from reading and meditating more frequently on God’s Word?