If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes

 

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him. 

 

- Luke 19:41–48 

 

Yesterday we read that, after teaching this parable, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.' "  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

 

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  My study bible comments here that Jerusalem means "foundation of peace."  Only faith in Christ, it says, brings true peace.  This is a truth which is hidden from a city that will soon rebel against its Savior.  We should note that there are two kinds of peace.  A false peace (to which Christ refers in 12:51)  is a shallow harmony that results from ignoring issues of truth, or the imposition of a kind of peace that comes through military might and suppression or intolerance of opposition.  But genuine peace is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ, and surrender to truth.  Genuine peace has division as a byproduct, my study bible says, because not everyone wants truth.  In the fallen world, divisions are necessary for truth to be manifest (see 1 Corinthians 11:18-19).  Jesus prophesies here the destruction of Jerusalem which would come in AD 70.  My study bible tells us that this also describes the spiritual end of every person who lacks faith. 

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  Those who bought and sold in the temple were  trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices.  Jesus quotes from two prophesies:  Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.  My study bible comments that this cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), it's also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.  

Jesus speaks of peace, but it is a particular type of peace.  It is the peace that is found in reconciliation with Him, in faith, in His teachings and His love, and in the place in the heart where it is guarded and kept watch over by those who know us and love us, beyond our understanding.  This is a very mystical kind of peace.  It is a peace that can be found through prayer, a refuge in the things of God.  St. Paul writes about it in the letter to the Philippians, from which we quoted in yesterday's reading and commentary.  St. Paul writes, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).  This is a particular kind of peace.  Often it is a type of peace that is met by hostility from others.  It might be a type of peace that teaches us to stand up for things others will find challenging.  On the other hand, it is also a type of peace that may ask us to withdraw from contests or debates in which everyone around us seems to be participating as if it were the most fervently necessary combat in existence.  This peace is the union we have, and the one we seek to deepen, without our faith in Christ.  It is a peace that connects us to a much greater world beyond this world that we know:  to the communion of saints past and present, to the world of the Kingdom in which space and time are not barriers, to the love of Christ and all the saints, the cosmos seen and unseen, the Trinity, the uncountable numbers of angels, to all those who love God.  This is where we start with our peace, the place into which we take refuge and "guard our hearts" as St. Paul writes.  Why, we must ask here, is it so important to guard our hearts?  Jesus speaks of not knowing the things that make for the peace of Jerusalem, as He weeps and laments over the city:  "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."  In this holy city, it was possible for people to be blind to what God held for them, the things that make for the city's peace.  So it is possible also for each one of us in our own day, at whatever time and place we find ourselves when we need God's peace.  Let us remember the words of Christ and the words of St. Paul.  Because, without this peace, it seems we miss what is extraordinarily real and pertinent, the things we need, and especially the guarding of the heart that keeps our hearts where we need to be.  We need to protect and preserve our faith, so that we know where we are and where we are headed.  Without this awareness, we may choose the road that makes not for peace but the sword.