Finish Off What Your Ancestors Began!

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful in appearance; but, inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanliness.  In the same way, you appear religious to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness within.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the righteous.  You say: Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.  So, you, yourselves, confess to be the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.  And now, finish off what your ancestors began!" - Matthew 23:27-32 

(We have on one side "the prophets" and on the other those who "kill the prophets."  Scripture shows us that the prophets meet with much opposition among the people of GOD and especially among its leaders.

There is a people of GOD and these people have necessarily its institutions which help it to be faithful to its mission.  In fact, these people follow their reflexes and social prejudices, and the whole institution, even if born of the Spirit, becomes heavy and hardens with time.  Prophets are readily condemned when they challenge peace and unity in mediocrity or even unfaithfulness to the word of GOD.

The Jewish people, harassed by foreigners, closed ranks around the temple, religious practice and the Pharisee group.  Moved by fear, the Jews did what any society would do when threatened: they became fanatically conservative and felt secure in the institutions GOD had given them in the past.  [We are at present experiencing the same phenomenon.  Our generation suddenly finds itself facing, in all areas, crises and threats for which it was not prepared; all our certitudes are questioned, and because of this we see emerging in all religions fundamentalist groups offering an appearance of safety by enclosing themselves in structures and systems of thought--or no thought--inherited from the past.]

The defenders of the Jewish community were not ready to listen to their prophet.  It was one thing to honor the prophets of the past and keep the sacred books, another to accept the criticism addressed to them by GOD, not in the sacred books, but from the lips of JESUS, the carpenter.

Thus it was that the prominent Jews let the moment when GOD visited them slip by--following the path that would lead their nation to ruin.

The example of the Jewish nation must serve as a warning to us.  Are our Christian communities, confronted today by a major crisis, able to build a poorer and more demanding Church?  Will they be less preoccupied with their personal survival rather than giving the Gospel to the world?)

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