“He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.”

“Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you do not seek Him. If you do not seek Him, you will not find Him.”

Gospel Text: (MT 11:20-24)
Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum:

Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the nether world.

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

They can see him. Why won’t they accept him? Why won’t they follow him?

What is our lesson here?

The “cities” of this world that have faith and trust in God will persevere. The “cities” that see Jesus and refuse to repent will fail. What does “repent” mean in a practical everyday sense? It means to have a change of heart, to amend our life, to acknowledge that “we” are not God and “we” do not make the rules, God does. It means we acknowledge God’s will and striving to follow it with the help of grace every day.

Jesus is not physically in our midst performing miracles, but we can still learn from his teachings and we can still recognize him and repent. We can be like the city that is saved. We can see the city of God now if our hearts are pure. We can accept Jesus, and if we do and carry our cross each day, we can be saved.