Weeping Over the City

As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."

Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, "It is written,

'My house shall be a house of prayer';
but you have made it a den of robbers."

Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard. Luke 19:41-48 

The places and people that God has showered blessing upon, are too often the places and people that squander what they have been given. In this season of Thanksgiving, and as we prepare for Advent, we are invited by God to recognize and cherish the incredible gifts we have been given, and to make our lives prayerful and humble. I have too often lost friends who had everything but who thought they were invincible.  I have watched loved ones suffer because they only saw their lack and not their blessings. I have seen church families tear each other apart because they are not what they once were. We all can sink to self-pity and sadness at this time of year. And yet we are invited to renew our sense of wonder and awe - to see how truly blessed we are.

Jesus weeps as he enters Jerusalem. God has blessed the city and the temple for all eternity and yet the people often missed the blessings because of their greed and ache for power. The religious leaders were as human and sightless as everyone else. The heart of the Divine is broken when we overlook the beauty and holiness we have been given, and when we cheapen it to fill our own needs. We are invited by the Creator, as Advent approaches, to put aside all that distracts us from seeing clearly how loved and blessed we truly are.

Today I ask God to help me see clearly. May we rejoice in our blessings and share the abundance we have. May this be a season of reawakening to love and joy in the incredible gifts given to us all. May today be the start of making prayer and welcome our daily tasks, our daily work and our daily food.