Gospel: Luke 11:47-54
A curse is on you, for you build monuments to the prophets your ancestors killed. So you approve and agree with what your ancestors did. Is it not so? They got rid of the prophets, and you build monuments to them!
For that reason the wisdom of God also said: I will send prophets and apostles and these people will kill and persecute some of them. But the present generation will have to answer for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the Sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will have to answer for them all.
A curse is on you, teachers of the law, for you have taken the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you prevented others from entering.”
As Jesus left that place, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to harass him, asking him endless questions, setting traps to catch him in something he might say.
Reflection
They preach what people do not want to hear.
Jesus presented to his people the unfortunate fate of the prophets whom God had sent in their midst. Prophets were sent by God to be His messengers, to remind the people of their covenant with Him. Yet, many of them have not been listened to. Prophets have been rejected, maligned, and persecuted, for they preach what people do not want to hear. Everyday experiences are not far from this. We find ourselves in random circumstances where prophets, whether in the form of our family members or friends, raise concerns about us. Perhaps it is good to ask how we have become responsive to them. Or have we been so reactive that we have cut our relationships with them? It is worth asking, for curses sometimes come in the form of regrets when we fail to listen.
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