Matthew 11:20-24 “in a snailshell”
Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang
Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum:
‘Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.’For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
Matthew 11:20-24
Wake up, Chorazin, Bethsaida!
Wake up, Capernaum!
Are you not more sluggish than Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom?
Traditional Chinese Translation
《哥拉汛哪，你有禍了！伯賽大啊，你有禍了！》
醒來，哥拉汛，伯賽大！
醒來，迦百農！
你們豈非比推羅、西頓和所多瑪更遲頓嗎？
These WOE passages seem harsh coming from Christ. Perhaps the use of the “woe” word has special meaning which I’ll need to look up. Yet I know that Christ did not mince words but spoke truth. That’s what got him arrested! I will take a positive note on these woes. May I realize God’s mighty deeds in creation and especially in creating me in the image and likeness of the Divine.
The words are more disarming coming from flowers and a snail!
In the commentary read today at Creighton Online Ministries, I learned this. “Jesus is upset. The Greek word for “woe” οὐαί (ouai) holds both sorrow and lament. Jesus is speaking out of grief.”
Jesus understands rejection.
Not being heard,
Being ignored,
Mocked, spat upon.
Do I recognize rejection?
How do I respond?
Often my good actions
Go unnoticed; challenged,
Made fun of.
Will I give up, or press forward?
Will I follow Jesus to Calvary?
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!