2 Kings 25:1-12 / Matthew 8:1-4
It is quite unimaginable and even horrific at the barbaric behaviour of human beings in this civilized age and time.
The atrocities of WWII and the other barbaric crimes of subsequent wars and violence will certainly raise questions about the sanity of humanity in this modern age.
It seems that history is repeating itself in updated methods of torture and killing.
In the first reading, the enemy laid siege on Jerusalem for about two years before capturing it.
King Zedekiah was captured together with his family and king Nebuchadnezzar treated him and his sons in a horrible and barbaric way.
But that was only just the beginning. The Temple of the Lord was also burned down together with the palace and all the houses of Jerusalem.
The burning question was this: Why did God allow His Temple to be burned down and looted of all its treasures?
And why was the People of God subjected to such humiliation, tragedy and disaster?
The only possible answer is that the People of God rebelled and defied God in His face, and they may even think that God would still protect them from their enemies and not let anything destroy the Temple.
But they were so wrong, and hence they were subject to the full fury and insanity of the enemy.
When God is insulted, rejected and disregarded, then humanity has lost all its sensibility.
But the gospel shows that when humanity turns to God for healing and salvation, God will certainly grant His blessings.
Let us always revere God in His House and always be a People of prayer.
Then we will be able to show humanity how to be sensible and be civilized.