DAILY GOSPEL COMMENTARY: “WOE TO YOU PHARISEES!” (Lk 11:42–46).
Woe to you Pharisees!
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.”
Gospel Commentary from the Navarre Bible, Commentary to the Gospel of St. Luke (with permission)
- 42 The Law of Moses laid down that the harvest had to be tithed (cf. Lev 27:30-33; Deut 12:22ff; etc) to provide for the worship offered in the Temple. Insignificant products were not subject to this Law.
- Rue is a bitter, medicinal plant, used by the Jews in ancient times. Did it have to be tithed?: the Pharisees, who were so nit-picking, said that it did.
- 44 According to the Old Law, anyone who touched a grave became unclean for seven days (Num 19:16); but with the passage of time a grave could become so overgrown that a person could walk on it without noticing.
- Our Lord uses this comparison to unmask the hypocrisy of these people he is talking to: they are very exact about very small details but they forget their basic duty — justice and the love of God (v. 42).
- On the outside they are clean but their hearts are full of malice and rottenness (v. 39); they pretend to be just, appearances are all that matters to them; they know that virtue is held in high regard, therefore they strive to appear highly virtuous (v. 43). Duplicity and deceit mark their lives.
VIDEO COMMENTARY ON TODAY’S GOSPEL
Topic: DO YOU PUSH YOUR WEIGHT AROUND, FEELING A SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT?
VIDEO COMMENTARY ON TODAY’S 1ST READING
Gal 5:18–25
Brothers and sisters: If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
TOPIC: Do you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit or the works of the flesh?
In today’s first reading (Galatians 5:18-25), St. Paul begins by telling us that if we are led by the Spirit, we do not need to be governed by any law because the Spirit of truth and love will prevail in all our situations. He does not speak here of just about any form of love – that is, sexual or romantic (eros), or brotherly (philia) – but he speaks here of agape love, which is love without expecting anything in return.St. Paul distinguishes between two types of people.
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