Saturday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111911.cfm

A mountain stream in a rainforest
in Washington State

So he called in all his Friends and said to them:
"Sleep has departed from my eyes,
for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
I said to myself: "Into what tribulation have I come,
and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule."
But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem,
when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver
that were in it, and for no cause
gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land." from I Maccabees


Some of the scribes said in reply,
"Teacher, you have answered well."
And they no longer dared to ask him anything. from Luke


Both readings today, from I Maccabees and the Gospel of Saint Luke conclude with implausible summations: that the enemies have finally recognized  their foolishness and, at least partly, repented. In the first case we are told King Antiochus acknowledged his cruel, unfair treatment of the Jews and that he was punished by their God. In the gospel, that the Sadducees and scribes no longer dared to ask Jesus anything. 

A writer and reader might be satisfied that the narrative has ended so neatly; a historian, psychologist or soap opera fan will insist, "Life is never as neat as our short stories." 

There are always malcontents at the end of every war who have not surrendered. The Civil War may have end formally at Appomattox, but Jesse James and his gang fought on. A hundred and fifty years later we still hear from the Ku Klux Klan periodically. Rebels may have won the war in Libya but the fighting has not ended. 

Likewise a spouse may win the argument in a marriage but bitter feelings often remain and must be addressed. 

A soldier returns from the killing fields of Europe, the Pacific, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Iraq or Afghanistan only to fight the war over  and over in his nightmares and his relationships. Even when he finally understands the nature of his trauma and he and his family have made the necessary adjustments, the nightmares may continue for a lifetime. 

As we ponder the Gospel, inviting it to penetrate the deepest core of our being, we discover the endless quest for reconciliation and healing. 

How long does it take? As long as it takes. 

What will it cost? Whatever it costs. 

We are willing to go with Jesus the distance.