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The Gospel according to Luke (11:37-41)
After Jesus had spoken,
a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
He entered and reclined at table to eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
Reflection:
As I’ve written about this Gospel before, the main lesson here is about judging by appearances. In Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were all about appearances, and ensuring that all observant Jews follow these additional traditions that were not part of the Jewish Law. Jesus calls them out for “lengthening their tassels”, just to show to others how pious and devout they were. But, as we hear from Jesus in today’s Gospel, those seemingly pious acts were largely for show.
I think that is why the Pharisees and other Jewish religious leaders had such trouble with Jesus. (Well, I’m sure it’s not the only reason!). Jesus’ whole message was that His Father (and Our Father) cared less about the outward show of faith, compared to the true faith that originated in the heart. If a person acted a way that demonstrated that they truly followed God’s law of love, to Jesus, that was enough. To the Pharisees, though, such a life would never be one worthy of praise.
In our own lives, we may encounter people that look different, act different, dress different, and worship different from ourselves. Do we see a person and judge him or her solely on what we see? This past weekend, Linda and I were out of town and happened to encounter a homeless man on the streets of downtown Salt Lake City. Linda was all about caring for him and asking if there was anything we could do for him. We gave him some juice to drink, and even that small act made a big difference for that man. He was so grateful, and it didn’t really cost us anything other than a few dollars and a couple of minutes to see him as a child of God. We will definitely pray for him, but it was a perfect example to us of the call of all of us to be kind and loving first of all.
That’s definitely not the way of the world, right? But, if those of us who are followers of Jesus would do these kind acts, all of those kind acts added together can really make a big difference. I would say that is what Jesus longs for us to do with our days, if we would only take the step to trust Him!
Today is also the memorial for St Teresa of Avila (also known as St Teresa of Jesus), a 16th Century Carmelite nun who was one of the great mystics of Spain. She was so devoted to Jesus that she experienced His presence with her physically for a period of two years, and she devoted herself to reforming the Carmelite order to be more in line with a focus on prayer and meditation. She was the first woman to receive the title “Doctor of the Church”, due to her writings and prayerful life. St Teresa of Avila, pray for us!
Action for the Day:
Do something kind for someone you meet today. Maybe today you can help in a homeless soup kitchen, and bring a kind word to someone who is in need. Or, maybe you can just greet someone you meet, so that person knows that he or she is also beloved of God.
The image attached to this reflection of St Teresa of Avila includes a prayer attributed to her. It’s recited at Mass every time Fr Mike Ohanete presides at my home parish of St Rita. Praying for you, Fr Mike, and trusting that God will allow you to visit us again next summer!
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