When Jesus stopped at the crest of the hill, overlooking the city of Jerusalem and the grandeur of the temple with golden pinnacle glistening in the rays of the setting sun, He was overcome. With cries and moans that shattered the joy of what seemed to be the inevitable crowning of the long-awaited promised one, Jesus sat rocking back and forth in agony of spirit. Everything stopped. every song was silenced, every hallelujah and homage to the king came to an abrupt halt. The only sound that now wrenched the air was the sound of grief and loss. In that moment of unrequited holy love, Jesus cried out:
"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murdering the prophets and stoning those who were sent to you! How often I would have gathered your children together as a mother hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused!" (Matthew 23:37)
Why, "oh Jerusalem"? Why not, "oh people of Jerusalem"?
Because, God chose the temple in Jerusalem as His dwelling place. God's chosen, God's ambassadors to the world, God's blessed people refused Him entrance into their hearts. The temple which He Himself had chosen in order to be with His people, He now would leave desolate, empty and void of His presence.
We, too, are the temple of the Holy Ghost. Chosen ambassadors to the world, blessed above all His creation, we wander about as sheep without a shepherd.
Save us Lord! Save us from our miserable selves. Save us from the hardness of our hearts.
Come and dwell in this earthen vessel that you have chosen.
Amen
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