Lk.11:47-54: “I will send you prophets and apostles.”

Today’s Gospel presents us with some very harsh words of Jesus addressed to the scribes and Pharisees. He reproaches them for building monuments to honor the prophets, while, in practice, they continue to act like their ancestors who persecuted and killed them. They raise graves for those who did not listen in life, but they close their ears to the voice of God that continues to resound in the present.

This denunciation of Jesus confronts us as well. We often admire the great witnesses of the faith; prophets, saints, martyrs, but we run the risk of not allowing ourselves to be challenged by his message. We like to remember their gestures…we even celebrate their feasts, but are we willing to take seriously their commitment to justice, truth, and love?