Not by chance are three of the saddest readings of the Old Testament– the Destruction of Jerusalem– read on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the week. The readings from the Book of Kings recall the tragic fall of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. On Saturday we read the Lamentations of Jeremiah over the city, sung also in our Good Friday liturgy.  How can we not see the mystery of the death of Jesus here?

Let’s not forget these events, because they point to an aspect of the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus we may overlook: kingdoms, nations, civilizations also experience this mystery  of Jesus. They rise and fall, they come and go. 

“Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!” We pray in our responsory psalm for Friday.

“For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us!” We pray in our responsory psalm for Thursday. 

Will the Lord deliver us? Is there a reason not to forget. Will the Lord bring life to the nations and civilizations that inevitably change and seem to pass away? Is there any reason to sing an alleluia these days before the gospel, after hearing of such destruction?

Not by chance do our gospel readings from St. Matthew these same days recall Jesus going down from the mountain after promising the blessings of a kingdom to the town of Capernaum, in Galilee, “the region of darkness.”

Matthew describes Jesus entering  Capernaum differently than Mark. In Mark’s account Jesus enters the synagogue first to confront the demon of death and darkness, 

In Matthew’s account, Jesus meets first the leper, an exile, outside the town. He cures him and gives him power to enter the town again, to be part of its life and future.( Friday) Entering Capernaum, Jesus meets then the Roman centurion, an outsider, whom he invites to banquet in his kingdom.( Saturday) Jesus brings the promise of life to more than one town and place.

We’re celebrating the 250 year of the birth of the United States on July 4th. We wonder about the future. Can our readings these last few days speak to the place of our country in the plan of God?