“He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son ...” (Mark 12:6.)
Saint Ambrose of Milan offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel proclamation:
“Matthew and Mark say: “He sent his only son, saying ‘they will respect my son.’” Luke sounds as though the outcome is in doubt, as though he did not know without doubt. But in Matthew and Mark he says: “they will respect my son,” that is, it is declared that respect will be shown. God can neither be in doubt, nor can he be deceived. For one can only be in doubt who is ignorant of the future. One is deceived who has predicted one thing while another happened. Yet what is plainer than the fact that Scripture states the Father to have said one thing of the Son, and the same Scripture proves another thing to have taken place? The Son was beaten, mocked, crucified, and died. He suffered much worse things in the flesh than those tenants who had been sent to help out. Was the Father deceived, or was he ignorant? Or was he powerless to give help? ... Neither is the Father deceived nor does the Son deceive. It is the custom of holy Scriptures to speak in these many voices, as I have shown in many examples. In such instances, God feigns not to know what he does know. In this then is shown the unity of Godhead. A unity of character is shown to exist in the Father and the Son. For as God the Father seems to hide what is known to him, so also the Son, who is the image of God, seems to hide what is known to him. ” (On the Christian Faith, 5.)
Collect
O God,
Who have made the blood of Martyrs
the seed of Christians, mercifully grant
that the field which is Your Church,
watered by the blood
shed by Saints Charles Lwanga
and his companions, may be fertile and
always yield You an abundant harvest.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen
Who have made the blood of Martyrs
the seed of Christians, mercifully grant
that the field which is Your Church,
watered by the blood
shed by Saints Charles Lwanga
and his companions, may be fertile and
always yield You an abundant harvest.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen
Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
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