October 16, 2014

Luke 11:47 - 54

The Lord said:
“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets 
whom your fathers killed.
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!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

Reflection

Harsh. Gut wrenching. Critical.

These are all words that can describe Jesus’s message to the Pharisees.

Being criticized is a challenge beyond belief. The thought of someone possibly being upset with our performance can be a struggle within its self.

When we are criticized, we have the ability to respond in two different ways; we can get upset and lash out to others in either a private or public setting or we can turn the critical comments someone makes about us into a unseen tenacity that will drive our personal growth and our future success. However, the only way we can get a taste of the tenacity that will drive us to success is if we put our pride aside and realize that an improvement in our lives needs to me made. Criticism can be momentarily difficult, but it can also be that absolutely necessary push we need to head in the right direction.

Although, Jesus is speaking very critically of the Pharisees, it is what the Pharisees needed to hear. The Pharisees thoughts, beliefs, and actions were not leading them to a life with Christ.  Their faith toward the prophets of the past was greater than the one present with them, the Savior Jesus Christ.

After Jesus’s comments to the Pharisees, we know that that the Pharisees took his criticism negatively. Instead of processing his comments to them and changing them into a tenacity to want to make a change, they used Jesus comments as a way to get back at him; as a way to further support their wrongful thinking rather than as on opportunity to grown.

Each day Jesus provides us with an opportunity to grow. He knows us better than anyone else does. He knows our strengths, our weakness, our success, and our failures. Allow us to keep our hearts and minds open to any criticism of us he may have so they we may use his truthful and necessary judgment as an opportunity to grow closer to him.