Denunciation of the scholars of the law

THE Lord said: 47“Woe to you! You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. 48Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building. 49Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ 50in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood! 52Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” 53When he left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, 54for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say. REFLECTION Give consent to the deeds of your ancestors. Jesus rebukes the scribes and the Pharisees for perpetuating what their fathers did, that is, killing those whom God had sent to them. From their ancestors up to now, innocent blood has been shed and God will not overlook this fact.

The warning, then, is an invitation to put an end to such a violent history and begin a new path of obedience to the Lord. Indeed, evil has a way of perpetuating unless the root causes are eradicated.

As the Letter of James (3:18) reminds us, “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.” But if we choose to cultivate bloodshed, then we can only expect to harvest the same. Let us heed St. Paul’s invitation: “Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Rom 12:21).

SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2016,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: books@stpauls. ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.