From: Luke 13:31-35
Jesus’ Reply to Herod
Jerusalem Admonished
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Commentary:
31-33. This episode apparently took place in the Perea region which, like Galilee,
was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (cf. Lk 3:1), a son of Herod the Great
(cf. note on Mt 2:1). On other occasions St. Luke mentions that Herod was keen
to meet Jesus and see him perform a miracle (cf. Lk 9:9; 23:8). These Pharisees
may be giving Jesus the warning just to get him to go away. Jesus calls Herod—
and indirectly his accomplices—a “fox”, once again showing his rejection of dupli-
city and hypocrisy.
Jesus’ answer shows them he is completely in command of his life and death:
he is the Son of God and his Father’s will is his only governor (cf. Jn 10:18).
34. Jesus here shows the infinite extent of his love. St Augustine explores the
meaning of this touching simile: “You see, brethren, how a hen becomes weak
with her chickens. No other bird, when it is a mother, shows its maternity so
clearly. We see all kinds of sparrows building their nests before our eyes; we
see swallows, storks, doves, every day building their nests; but we do not know
them to be parents, except when we see them on their nests. But the hen is so
enfeebled over her brood that even if the chickens are not following her, even if
you do not see the young ones, you still know her at once to be a mother. With
her wings drooping, her feathers ruffled, her note hoarse, in all her limbs she be-
comes so sunken and abject, that, as I have said, even though you cannot see
her young, you can see she is a mother. That is the way Jesus feels” (”In Ioann.
Evang.”, 15, 7).
35. Jesus shows the deep sorrow he feels over Jerusalem’s resistance to the
love God had so often shown it. Later St Luke will record Jesus’ weeping over
Jerusalem (cf. Lk 19:41). See also the note on Mt 23:37-39.
[The note on Mt 23:37-39 states:
Jesus’ moving remarks seem almost to sum up the entire history of salvation and
are a testimony to his divinity. Who if not God was the source of all these acts of
mercy which marks the stages of the history of Israel? The image of being protec-
ted by wings, which occurs often in the Old Testament, refers to God’s love and
protection of his people. It is to be found in the prophets, in the canticles of Mo-
ses (cf. Deut 32:11), and in many psalms (cf. 17:8; 36:8; 57:2; 61:5; 63:8). “And
you would not”: the Kingdom of God has been preached to them unremittingly for
centuries by the prophets; in these last few years by Jesus himself, the Word of
God made man. But the “Holy City” has resisted all the unique graces offered it.
Jerusalem should serve as a warning to every Christian: the freedom God has
given us by creating us in his image and likeness means that we have this ter-
rible capacity to reject him. A Christian’s life is a continuous series of conver-
sions—repeated instances of repentance, of turning to God, who, loving Father
that he is, is every ready to forgive.]
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
| First reading | Romans 8:31-39 © |
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| Psalm |
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| Psalm 108:21-22,26-27,30-31 © |
| Gospel Acclamation | Ps147:12,15 |
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| Or | cf.Lk19:38,2:14 |
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| Gospel | Luke 13:31-35 © |
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