Preached at Kintore College, by Fr. Eric Nicolai, Sept 27, 2021.

Luke 9, 51-56 Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem.

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.  And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him;  but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.(Lk 9, 51-53)

Jesus, we are told, was to be received up to heaven: Curious words, but they refer to the end of his life, and the purpose of what he was doing. They refer to the moment when Jesus will leave this world and ascend into heaven, after his passion. 

Our Lord will say this more explicitly during the Last Supper: “I come from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father” (Jn 16:28).

To do that, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

By making his way resolutely to Jerusalem, towards his Cross, Jesus freely complies with his Father’s plan — for his Passion and Death to be the route to his Resurrection and Ascension.

Resolutely, meaning with intense desire. Not with half hearted direction. Decisively, unwaveringly. Steadfastly. Also bravely, and full of courage and joy.

We’re all going somewhere. We have set are feet in a direction. Do you know where your life is going? What it is really all about? Where you will end up? Or have you built something int he wrong place, like Gerizim, where the Samaritans people their temple.

Music: Handel Opera Rinaldo, aria “Lascia ch’io pianga”, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink.

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