Gospel

Luke 11:42-46

The Lord said:

“Woe to you Pharisees!

You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,

but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.

These you should have done, without overlooking the others.

Woe to you Pharisees!

You love the seat of honor in synagogues

and greetings in marketplaces.  

Woe to you!

You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,

“Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.”

And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law!

You impose on people burdens hard to carry,

but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”

Reflection

Jesus had an intention, not necessarily to insult those that were leading the temple as much as it was to change their understanding of who they were. They were blinded by their darkness. And what we see in this is that they are making other people enter that darkness with him without even knowing it. To step on a grave would make a person unclean, to be in the web of the Pharisees and scribes would also make them unclean.

So Jesus is worried about the impact he's having on the people, and as he reveals it, all they can hear is an insult that is unfairly offered.

Closing Prayer

Father, bless us with the understanding of the fullness of who you want us to be. If it was just about you and us, it would be different. But it's about us and everyone around us. Help us to understand how contagious we can be, both for the light and for the darkness. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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