Today’s Readings - AM Psalm 119:49-72; Ecclus. 28:14-26; Rev. 12:1-6; Luke 11:37-52
When we lived in Mississippi one of my mother’s closest friends and colleagues was a Roman Catholic priest. I thought the world of him. He and my mother became friends through their work in the state Mental Health association and in the Civil Rights movement. He was someone I felt comfortable talking to no matter what was bothering me. He eventually left Mississippi to become a cardinal in Boston. Later we learned he had been exposed for having covered up abuse committed by priests on children in his diocese. There was nothing about the side of him we knew that could have prepared us to understand this side of him.
In today’s gospel Jesus is dealing with this same kind of hypocrisy. The Pharisees and scribes practiced tithing and strict observance of food laws and religious rituals. However, their legalistic interpretation of these laws missed the purpose at the heart of these laws, that of justice and care for the poor, the widows and the outcast and love of God and neighbor.
When provoked by one of the Pharisees no one escapes Jesus’ ire. Even the religious lawyers are the subject of Jesus’ anger; keeping their standards so high that no one can keep them and then not willing to help those who are trying to keep them.
If we’re honest with ourselves, none of us wants a visitor to see the dust bunnies skittering across our floors or the dishes in the sink or last week’s mail on the coffee table. Our “houses” are not near as tidy and perfect as we want them to appear. Exteriors are much easier to maintain, than our interiors. Our interior lives can become complicated and messy, not near what we profess or want others to see. In this way we’re not much different from the Pharisees.
In our Holy Eucharist service, as the table is being prepared for communion, the priest who will preside over the table, will sometimes have his or her hands “washed” by another server. This is not for actual cleansing as it may have been at one time, but rather is a ceremonial washing as he or she prepares to celebrate the Eucharist. It’s during this time we ask God to cleanse our hearts of impurities as we dedicate our selves, our souls and bodies in service to God. A practice that is probably similar to the ceremonial washing the Pharisees were critical Jesus failed to complete. Today when we observe this ritual, we are preparing our inner being as much if not more than our outward one.
Jesus could see how the Pharisee’s “false” practice of religion was not an expression of God’s will. Our daily practices can appear to be a sincere offering to God however if they’re not from the heart and an offering of love to God, then we are like a tree which appears to be alive and healthy, while at its core it lacks the life and strength by which to withstand life’s pressures and collapses. Like the “unmarked graves,” we are empty, having lost the life Christ gave us.
Perhaps as we approach the end of the church year, now is a good time to take stock of our daily spiritual practices, of our gifts and how we are using them. It may be time to get ourselves in better alignment with how we know Christ would like us to live, interior lives as well as exterior.
Faithfully,
Sally+
Questions for Reflection - What are some of the things you are most afraid to reveal to others? To admit to yourself? What is the worst that could happen? Consider asking God to help you make things straight. It’s possible it could deepen your relationship with God and others.