The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

Today's Gospel relates to us one of the occasions when Christ shed tears. In so doing He teaches us that He is truly human as well as truly God.

But, let us consider what occasioned these tears of Our Lord. He speaks of Jerusalem and the destruction of buildings: being beat to the ground and not one stone left upon another. This in itself is a terrible site and one that generally would occasion sadness. It is truly a great loss when such edifices are destroyed along with all the labors that were expended to erect and maintain them.

But, the real tragedy here is the loss of lives and souls. This is what has truly occasioned such sorrowful tears.

The people of Jerusalem _ the chosen people _ were set aside by God to preserve the teachings of God among men. They were entrusted with a most precious gift. Rather than being humble and grateful for such a tremendous gift, these foolish people allowed it to go to their heads. Filled with foolish vanity they began not only to look down upon the rest of men but even to despise and hate them.

Thus when God Himself came to this earth, they chose to reject Him because He sought out all men and was not a respecter of persons but opened up His heart to all. He associated with the just and the unjust alike. He came to seek that which was lost (the sinners). For this the Judeans rejected Him. He did not despise the other peoples as they did. He did not place them on pedestals but showed them that they were not as righteous and just as they thought. This they would not accept because they were blinded by their pride and vanity.

Christ did not hate and detest them on the contrary it is because He loved them so much that we now see Him shedding tears over their impending loss, destruction, and damnation.

Even at this stage all these people had to do was to humbly turn to Christ with contrite and believing hearts and He was ready to forgive them everything and reinstate them into the life of grace. But, they would not. And thus they bring the destruction upon themselves.

Ever since that day our Holy Mother Church has likewise looked out over the world shedding the same tears over the loss, destruction, and damnation that hangs over the heads of so many in the world.

And it appears that with the passage of time this destruction becomes even more ominous. Men rather than hear the words of God and love their neighbors as they love themselves; rather than love their enemies and those that persecute them, they choose to hate, detest and despise their fellow men. They choose to kill those who oppose them or get in the way of their own selfish objectives.

Let us never forget that we are all made in the image and likeness of God. Every one of us was created for the honor and glory of God and have been called to live a life that will lead us to the eternal loving of God in Heaven.

If we have been favored with graces which God has not so blessed others with, let us not allow this to go to our heads _ let us avoid all thoughts of pride and vanity _ but let us become even more humbled that God has so honored us with these gifts of which we are so unworthy. Let us realize that these gifts were given to us for the greater honor and glory of God. We must use them not only for our own salvation but also that of our neighbors'.

We must cherish above all the other gifts that of the grace of the true Faith. We must do all that is in our power to nurture and protect this grace. Simultaneously we must strive that our fellow men will receive this same grace. We should strive that they will be able to share with us in the joy and consolation of being in the grace of God.

It would be an abuse of God's grace to hoard it up and refuse it our fellow men. And such an abuse will lead to our own loss of grace and eternal damnation just like those who occasioned the tears of Christ in today's Gospel. We have nothing to fear in the sharing of the graces that we receive because in sharing them they are not diminished in any why but on the contrary they are increased. To quote St. Francis, "It is in giving that we receive."

Let us give our hearts to Christ and love our fellow men as Christ commands us. Then we too will join Him and weep with Him over the destruction and loss of so many souls.

It seems inevitable that the majority will be lost, but if only one soul is saved and can thus offer eternal honor and glory to God then our tears, prayers and efforts will not have been in vain.

Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?