A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to 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: Today’s message from Jesus is blunt and firm. The “Woe to you” He pronounces upon the Pharisees, and the scholars of the law, is a strong scolding of their hypocrisy. Jesus calls out their piety, which is thoroughly visible on the surface, but lacks, a sincere and loving heart.
To the Pharisees, Jesus says; “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”. Telling them, that they are faithful in the small things, down to the tiniest detail of the law, but they neglect the great command—the love of God. As a result. they have a “piety gap”. In other words, their outward religious acts, are not supported by their inner transformation.
Jesus is not saying that such observations are bad; rather, He insists, that they, should not be done, while neglecting the more important matters of faith.
And to the scholars of the law, Jesus issues a similar condemnation: “You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them”. These leaders should be shepherding the people, with compassion. But instead, they weigh them down with legal burdens. They hold others, to a standard they do not meet themselves, creating a heavy, and uncharitable environment.
Jesus is calling us today, to hear these warnings, not as a condemnation, but as an invitation, to examine our own hearts. The danger of hypocrisy is an on-going struggle in our human nature, a recurrent temptation. Therefore, it is of high importance, that we often do a self-examination, regarding the state of our own “piety gap”.
Do I pride myself, on external acts of faith—going to Mass, saying a rosary, or doing charitable work—while neglecting the fundamental call, to love and justice? Do I place heavy burdens of expectation, and judgment on others, while making excuses, for my own faults? Or “Do I notice the splinter in my brother’s eye, but neglect to see, the wooden beam, in my own eye?
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the remedy for this hypocrisy is, humility, and an honest self-check. Jesus’ message is one of mercy, but it is a mercy, that calls for conversion of heart. We are invited to cultivate a faith, that is alive and active. One where our devotion springs, from a place of genuine love for God, and our neighbor. This is the faith of the heart, that Jesus seeks.
Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, who’s memorial we celebrate today, had spiritual reforms, that align with today’s Gospel message. During her time, St. Teresa found the Carmelite monasteries, to be in a state of carelessness, with nuns observing religious rules, without the necessary interior spirit, of prayer and devotion. Like Jesus, she sought to correct this hypocrisy, by reminding her fellow sisters, that true holiness is not found in outward forms alone, but in a profound, intimate friendship with God, nurtured, through deep contemplative prayer, and a genuine love for others. She challenged the comfortable, external practice of religion in her day, by advocating for an inner conversion, and a hard commitment to both, prayer and active charity, ensuring her reforms, addressed the very imbalance Jesus spoke of.
ACTION FOR THE DAY: Make time today, to place yourself in the solitude of your heart, and do a self-examination, on the state of your own shortcomings. Then, pray that the Lord looks upon you with compassion, and that you may strive to live out a faith, that is authentic—one that not only observes the law, but overflows with justice, mercy, and love for all of God’s children.
AUDIO REFLECTION:
