HARSH WORDS!
(a
reflection on Luke 11:37-41)
by: Deacon Paul
Rooney
Luke
11:37-41 (esp. 40a) : "You fools!"
Jesus has some harsh words in today's
gospel for those who do not tend to their spiritual journey. One road on this spiritual journey speaks to
me of love, and our invited response to the ethical demand of the gospel. The other road speaks to me of hypocrisy. Both roads reveal themselves eventually.
I can remember vividly the time when
I was a paperboy for the Fremont Tribune many decades ago. J
Every late afternoon during the weekdays I would make my rounds
delivering the Tribune. Then on the
first Saturday
morning of the month, I would make the rounds collecting the
monthly subscription price of 15¢ [how
times change…the price today is $12.25 to have it delivered to your door by a
paperboy]. During the daily
deliveries all month long, all I would see would be the outside of the homes: all very nicely painted, yards well-trimmed,
and so on. But once a month when I
collected, they would invite me inside,
and I would see the absolute mess or chaos that the homes really looked like
inside, away from the eyes of the world.
I suspect many of us can visualize that scene. How many times have we received a surprise
phone call from someone saying they would be arriving soon to visit - - so we
hit the panic button and clean up the inside of the house (or at least that
part that the Visitor will see)!
This is sort of what Jesus is getting
at in today’s Gospel (Luke 11:37-41). Jesus seems to get a little tough with his
host, calling him and all the
Pharisees Fools!! That’s probably not something you would
expect an invited person to call you, right in your own home. But that really was in keeping
with the rabbinic tradition, which could also be
harsh with some Pharisees. In that
culture, it meant that the Pharisees were being seen by Jesus as being arrogant, which in turn means the
Pharisees were acting out of self-important
pride in their own ability to follow the ritual rulebook. And their man-made rulebook said that
everyone had to wash their hands and forearms before eating.
Jesus tells the Pharisees - - and us
- - “Hey, keeping the external rituals
is meaningless if the inside or
interior of your heart is a shambles.
You are being hypocrites,
because your actions don’t reflect
the real truth of your Heart.” That is
always the challenge that Jesus places before us: to put our faith into action.
And good action comes only from a heart
of love.
This is why almsgiving is such a Great work of mercy! It is private,
and no one knows what you are giving but you and God! Works
of mercy that come from within
are what purify us in the eyes of God. Or as Jesus might say, “Give what is
inside the dish to the poor, and then
the dish will be clean.”
There is a lot for us to chew on in
these five short gospel verses. The key
is to focus on interior cleansing,
not exterior cleansing. To do the latter
while ignoring the former reveals the hypocritical
heart. This gospel is not meant just
for the Pharisees. It is meant for all
believers of all times; it is meant for you and me today. We are indeed a sacramental people, but we
must make sure that our pious practices do not become a matter of show, or a
matter of score-keeping. The ethical
demand of the gospel calls me to take time in my daily examen to discern
whether my "religious" actions reflect the true condition of my
heart. I would urge all Christians to
do the same. (+)
Deacon
Paul Rooney
----------------
Photo credits:
Almsgiving: http://www.wordonfire.org/WoF-Blog/WoF-Blog/March-2012/Lent-Almsgiving-and-How-to-Avoid-Being-a-Goat.aspx
Thank you for this post Deacon Paul. Powerful reminder to for examens. God Bless...
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