You Bear Witness and Give Consent

+AMDG+

Here are the readings today.

Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute’
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from 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!

- Luke11:47-54

Our Lord's words can be harsh at times but they are true nonethless. This line in particular:

‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute...’

reminds me of abortion. How many saints have we not given the chance to live in our world?

Many times we are very quick to point the finger at God and say, 'Why does God let this happen?' We say the same thing about world hunger, mass murder, genocide, the suffering of children all of which are so difficult to deal with. But do many of us ever ask, "Why am I letting this happen?" Do we try to ease the suffering in the world cause other human beings? Do we believe that we are all members of one human family, and that when one member is hurting ALL the members are hurting?

When my mom gets sick at home, everyone feels it. We try to make her day better and take care of her. We just do it because we love her. We don't sit in a room and say, "Why did God let this happen to her?" or "What can I do, I am not a doctor? How can I help?" So many times just being with the person suffering does wonders. Because we are so connected to God our hearts pour out love on others when we allow it. We open up and become a source of life for the other person so that they realize they are not alone in their suffering.

If this works for my mother, a member of my biological family, why shouldn't it work for a homeless person or someone who is hungry in our human family?

If we are charged with the suffering of others, whether directly or indirectly, then what are we doing to alleviate that suffering and to make amends for the damage we have wrought. Our Lord challenges us today and reminds us that the question isn't, "Where is God in all this?" The Psalms 34:18 tells us,

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit."

God is right there with suffering. When we are suffering the Lord is right there with us.

But the question that Jesus asks us is,

"Where are you in all of this?"

Pray well!