In today’s Gospel, Luke 12:54-59, Jesus is pointing out to the crowds that they know how to read and understand the physical world, like something so unpredictable as the weather, but they cannot read and understand the spiritual world right in front of them.
He chastises them for not knowing that they are living in a critical time, and says, “Why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”.
If Jesus was here today, would he be chastising us for the same thing? We are in critical times. Are we judging for ourselves what is right, and judging by our faith and our Church teachings, or are we letting society, celebrities and social media decide things for us? It always baffles me when celebrities tell their fans how they should act or follow. Don’t they think their fans are smart enough to decide for themselves based on their conscience and values?
This is a critical time for our country as we face battles on issues such as abortion, freedom of religion beliefs, having input into our children’s education, and many more. This Gospel should cause us to reflect – are we letting the political parties and organizations we belong to influence our faith, or does our faith influence the political parties and organizations we belong to? There is a huge difference!
De Colores, Deacon Kevin
