In the church calendar, there are only 5 weeks left until the end of the year. The new church year will begin November 29^th, the first Sunday of Advent. This past year, we have been learning the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem in Luke. Chronologically, the closer Jesus gets to Jerusalem, the more intense his message becomes. In the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus’ words were well received. He was praised by everyone. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. Now at the end of the year, his words are much less than gracious. We heard today that he called “the crowds” hypocrites and in a rather threatening tone. He is more than upset. He’s angry. His anger is not that he’s going to be killed, but that these people who once praised him, no longer understand him.

Since most of them were farmers, they know very well how to predict the weather. People, who work in the fields every year of their lives, don’t need weather reports from the NOAA. What makes people ignore the obvious? For someone who sees the “big picture” as most assuredly Jesus did, they have a natural inclination to be frustrated with petty issues. There cannot be a bigger picture, if you will, than the Kingdom of God. However one may interpret what that kingdom is, there is nothing on earth more important or urgent. It is so urgent that after 2,000 years, we still haven’t believed enough in that kingdom. It’s almost as if the good news is too good to be true. Therein lies the frustration of Jesus. He knows that in the end evil is depleted, darkness is overcome and not even death prevails. Seen in that light, no wonder Jesus lashes out at the crowds that keep pestering him. They want entertainment and he is announcing salvation.

Each of us has our daily tasks. We have responsibilities, and relationships that take most of our time and emotional energy. Those tasks can and do interfere with our appreciation of God’s plan. We will never fully understand that plan. It will be made clear when we have completed our lives on earth. In order to avoid being crushed by our sins, as St. Paul writes about in the first reading, we do well to come to the same conclusion as Paul. It’s in tomorrow’s reading, so I’ll give a spoiler’s alert here: “the spirit of Christ Jesus has freed us from the law of sin and death.” That’s something to keep in mind when we lose our perspective. As the saying goes, in the jungle, it’s not the lions or tigers that get you, it’s the mosquitos.

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