Focus

As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God in whatever way that may take place.

 

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Read

Matthew 15:1 9 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father. So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”

 

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Reflect

The Pharisees were big on following the laws and traditions of their faith; but, like many who claim to be religious today, they sometimes liked to pick and choose which ones they followed. Just like in the old gospel song, “This Train,” only “the righteous and the holy” were allowed, and the Pharisees wanted to define exactly who that would include.

Are we guilty of pretty much this same thing? Do we relish pointing out the sins of others, while continuing to sin ourselves? Is it easier to criticize those who do not live according to our personal concepts of principle and piety, than to see that we, ourselves, often fall short of the standards set out in scripture?

Jesus had a few, well, more than a few…, words for these teachers of the law; he called them “hypocrites” and reminded them that their lip service to the commandments was not true worship.

Christians today are sometimes said to be guilty of “too much law and not enough love” and, from our scripture reading today, we can see that this is not a new thing. Let us examine our own lives and our own hearts to see if we, too, are deserving of Jesus’ condemnation for following the letter of the law and neglecting the truth of the scriptures.

 

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Pray

Forgiving God, help us to look at ourselves before we criticize others. Remind us, as well, to share your grace and love with our all brothers and sisters, wherever and however we find them. Amen.

 

Go with God!