Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s world, we often hear news stories on Jerusalem and the many conflicts centered around that city. It might not surprise us, then, to know that the city of Jerusalem was often a site of conflict. Throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew people are seen trying to protect their city, seeing their city overtaken, seeing their city restored, seeing their city destroyed, and so on. Jerusalem became an important symbol as the earthly home of God, in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem. And the city of Jerusalem was hence seen as the primary place of worship of God. The people secure within its walls felt free to worship God in accordance with their faith.
The first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah tells of a time when Judah came under attack by Aram and Israel. At this time, the Hebrew people were split between a northern kingdom (Israel) and a southern kingdom (Judah), which encompassed Jerusalem. The last line of this passage is, “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm!” (Is 7:9). These are the words of Isaiah to Ahaz, the king of Jerusalem. Isaiah is trying to reassure Ahaz that Jerusalem can and will remain secure, if the people believe in God’s protection.
But as we know from other parts of the Old Testament, and Jerusalem’s current situation, Jerusalem did not remain protected from invaders, nor free of conflict. We must not be misled by the psalm response: “God upholds his city forever” (Ps 48:9d). God does uphold his city forever, but it is not the earthly Jerusalem; rather it is the heavenly Jerusalem that God upholds forever. As I mentioned before, Jerusalem was an important symbol of worship and faith, and it remains so for us today, as an image of heaven.
When Jesus preached the coming of the Kingdom of God, he brought the good news of this heavenly Jerusalem. While his ministry initially was addressed to the Jews of his own faith, Christianity was to become something far beyond the nations of Judah or Israel. The earthly city of Jerusalem became the place where Christ the king reigned from the cross, and his resurrection gave birth to a Church for whom the heavenly Jerusalem, the Kingdom of Heaven became the ultimate goal.
It is easy to think of the Kingdom of God or the heavenly Jerusalem as some abstraction that has little pull on us today. This is a mistake. Like the people living in Jerusalem when Isaiah was preaching, our heavenly Jerusalem must be of utmost importance. We must always see heaven as our final resting place, our ultimate security, the place where we will be with God forever, content to be in his presence and share in his divine life. In the gospel passage from Matthew for today, Jesus begins to reproach the towns that have not repented, for he knows that repentance is the first step on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Jesus does not desire their repentance for his own good, but for theirs. So also for us – our repentance is in our own best interest because it helps us to turn our focus to our true home in heaven.
God upholds the heavenly Jerusalem forever, and if our faith is firm, we will also be firm. We will be able to live holy lives. It’s not always easy in our culture today to keep our eyes fixed on heaven or to foster the virtue of repentance. But each day that we reflect on the Mass readings, we have the opportunity to recommit ourselves to the words of the Scripture and to God revealed in them. As Ordinary Time continues, let us continue to walk with our Lord and stay the path, regardless of the challenges.
- Maria Morrow