Gospel (Lk 12:54-59)

Jesus also said to the multitudes, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper.”

Commentary

Even in ancient times, people were able to predict the weather because God, since the creation of the world, let them share in his wisdom to “interpret the appearance of earth and sky.” But the signs and wonders that those people listening to Jesus had seen, the teachings they had heard were more than enough to recognize the coming of the saving Messiah. What use was it to know all about earthly things if they refused to accept their Creator, who came into the world to “reconcile all things to himself”? (Col 1:20).

With Jesus, the fullness of time has come (cf. Gal 4:4). Salvation and conversion of heart are within everyone’s reach. In the sanctuary of their conscience, all men and women can discern between good and evil, between what is just and what is unjust. While we are wayfarers in this world, God never stops giving his children the means needed to recognize him and convert, even right to the last moment of one’s earthly life, as he did with the good thief, who recognized in Jesus the God who could save him from eternal death (cf. Lk 23:42).

Jesus tells us that even the fear of a just condemnation can become a valid reason to change one's life and seek reconciliation with God and one's neighbor. But to do so, humility is needed, abandoning the hypocritical attitude of those who presume to know a lot about human matters, but fail to recognize in the depths of their hearts the presence of a God who “does not want the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezek 33:11). Regarding the relationship between human learning and humility, Saint Josemaría wrote: “For all your learning, for all your fame, your eloquence and power, if you are not humble, you are worth nothing. Cut out, root out that self-complacency which dominates you so completely. God will help you. And then you will be able to begin working for Christ, in the lowest place in his army of apostles.”^[1]

^[1] Saint Josemaria, The Way, no. 602.