32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.33 And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us.
When I am waiting for the service to commence, I will often flip randomly to a passage to consider in addition to whatever the day's readings are. Deuteronomy 2:32-36 wasn't particularly consonant with the spirit of Palm Sunday and the Lord's Passion but knowing the whole is always more challenging than dealing in the parts.
Unbeknownst to me, the Pope was simultaneously making a Palm Sunday, Lord's Passion statement.
Pope Leo XIV on Palm Sunday, forcefully denounces those who use God to justify war: “Brothers and sisters, this is our God, Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them saying… pic.twitter.com/2x6VIGbkOM
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) March 29, 2026
Of course this is in part just the eternal tension between the Old Testament of judgment, war and tragedy and the New Testament of forgiveness, peace and hope. But it was a striking contrast between what I was reading while waiting for the service to begin and what the Pope was opining.
And of course, Babylon Bee goes to town.
Pope Leo Explains God Does Not Listen To People Who Wage War So Long As You Don’t Count Moses, David, Joshua, Elijah, Saul, Gideon, Samson, Or Anyone Else In Bible https://t.co/8Hu7kJv7hc pic.twitter.com/q2jBwHjSST
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) March 29, 2026
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