Neglect for Weightier Things

Today's Reflections

Neglect for Weightier Things 

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Mt 23:23-26

[Jesus said], ²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. [But] these you should have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

²⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. ²⁶Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”

Reflection:

Strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! This expression is a hyperbole for neglecting one’s main and principal duties. The scribes and Pharisees are preoccupied with small and insignificant matters, like paying tithes of mint and dill and cummin, rather than the essential points of God’s laws, such as justice, mercy, and fidelity.

The Gospel also shows that the primary concern of these religious leaders is on external appearances, thus ignoring the internal and essential. What matters to Jesus is change of heart, conversion, and a reformed lifestyle.

What do you consider essential and important in our life?

How do you practice God’s justice, mercy, and fidelity?