Gospel

Matthew 23:13-22

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.

You do not enter yourselves,

nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You traverse sea and land to make one convert,

and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna

twice as much as yourselves.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,

‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,

but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’

Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,

or the temple that made the gold sacred?

And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,

but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’

You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,

or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;

one who swears by the temple swears by it

and by him who dwells in it;

one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God

and by him who is seated on it.”

Reflection

Jesus is not speaking to the Pharisees and scribes, but to the crowds. And what he's worried about is the impact that they have on the crowd. And what he's trying to say to them is they are not the people you should look to for any kind of direction or understanding of what it is to be a follower of God.

And so he attacks, and the attack is absolutely without mercy. And so that's rare for Jesus to talk this way, but he went so much to make this point. Don't do what they do. Don't follow their example.

Closing Prayer

Father, we need to be discerning about the people who teach us and lead us toward you. We need to have a conviction that they are following what you really teach. And so give us this wisdom to discern the difference between the teaching that leads to you and a teaching that leads to destruction. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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