ALAS FOR YOU PHARISEES!

October 13,Wednesday

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

      Paul warns his Romans that they may not conduct themselves like the pagans, whose scandalous behavior he has just denounced. But all are called to conversion, whether of pagan or Jewish origin. For God shows no partiality.

      It is surprising that Jesus could cure all ills – the blind, the deaf, lepers, yes, and also sinners aware of their failures. But he could not cure Pharisees and scribes from their “open-eyed” blindness. Jesus does perhaps not attack them so much for their literal observance of the last detail of the law but for getting so absorbed by the details of the law that they did not see the roots of all laws, justice and love. This is also the key teaching of Paul in his letter to the Galatians: not laws but the Spirit.

 

First Reading: Romans 2:1-11

Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.

You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!

If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.

 

Gospel: Luke 11:42-46

“I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God’s love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.

“You’re hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You love sitting at the head table at church dinners, love preening yourselves in the radiance of public flattery. Frauds! You’re just like unmarked graves: People walk over that nice, grassy surface, never suspecting the rot and corruption that is six feet under.”

One of the religion scholars spoke up: “Teacher, do you realize that in saying these things you’re insulting us?”

He said, “Yes, and I can be even more explicit. You’re hopeless, you religion scholars! You load people down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never lift even a finger to help.

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus was the fulfillment
of the Law and the Prophets.
He knew and taught and lived
that the fulfillment of the Law and the promises
lies in the service of people and of you
in justice and love.
Let these too be the guides of our lives,
that with him we seek people
and above all the living person
of you, our God for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Practice what you preach
We continue to read from Chapter 11 of Luke where Jesus continues with his criticism on the Pharisees. As we reflected yesterday, Luke was making use of these teachings of Jesus to warn the members of his own community not to be judgmental of the people. Pharisees stressed on the observances of the Law of Moses. Scrupulous observance of the law and the numerous traditions that accumulated over the centuries was inevitable of a pious Jew.
The scribes and pharisees – the religious scholars – were regarded as the custodians and interpreters of the Torah.

Jesus gets visibly annoyed and furious with these religious leaders for preaching the wrong catechism and presenting a wrong face of God to their people. The religious leaders taught the people to accept the commandments of God, lest they should be punished. According to their traditions and interpretations, keeping themselves pure by following the rituals of purifications, observing Sabbath, and paying tithes were ways to please God, and to avoid his punishments.

This sounds familiar even in our times as well. Even today, there are people who believe in a punishing God. There are many hold on to the observance of the traditions as the most important part of their life in faith. Sometimes church leaders have been more anxious to preserve traditional practices than lead people to a deeper love of Christ and each other. Religious traditions and rituals are important, but they should not be at the expense of the greatest commandment of Jesus: Love of God and love of neighbour.

The more that we multiply rules, the more we try to control other people’s lives. With control over others comes a temptation to judge them. At the same time we ourselves are in danger of thinking ourselves holier than the rest because we follow the rules. And this is the biggest barrier to holiness! Jesus attacks the pharisees for their attention seeking power-hungry attitude.

In the past, the clergy in the Church expected similar honors to be paid to them. Very often, people willingly did so because they genuinely respected their bishop or their priest. But, as used to be said, the habit does not make the monk nor the Roman collar, the priest nor the miter, the bishop.
Pharisaism is alive and well in our society but the first person I need to check is me. In the rite of Ordination to diaconate, the Bishop would give an all-important instruction to the one ordained as Deacon: ‘Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Practise what you teach.’

Video available on Youtube: Practice what you preach