The Gospel for the memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr, is taken from Luke 11:47, 54. The Lord said, woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your fathers killed. Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they kill them and you do the building. Therefore the wisdom of God said, I will send to them prophets and apostles. Some of them they will kill and persecute in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the temple building.

Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood. Woe to you, scholars of the law. You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter, and you stopped those trying to enter. When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things. But they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

When you look at the evil that was in the system of the scribes and Pharisees, the loss of real truth, real purpose, we’re given an insight into the way in which it works in human nature, that when you live in a system that’s corrupt in it will always corrupt you. It was only with the coming of Jesus that this whole system was blown apart and healed by the love of God. For everyone who seeks the truth, take a moment to reflect upon these images and I will end with a closing prayer. Closing prayer Father, your condemnation of the religious practices of the times underscores the importance of redemption. That you have to enter into any system, any process has to be based in you before it can produce the abundance of goodness. It is your will, and we ask this in Jesus name.

Amen.