Neglect for Weightier Things

Today's Reflections

                                                                     

Neglect for Weightier Things 

http://graceandspace.org

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:

You have neglected the weightier things of the law. Two things the Lord is asking us to do through his criticism of the scribes and Pharisees. First, we must attend to the more important things first. And what are these? “Judgment and mercy and fidelity.” In other words, what matters most is the way we regard people, how mercifully we deal with them, and how faithful we are in our dealings. These we should put first.

Second, Jesus teaches us to give priority to the cleansing of our inner self before we attend to rituals of external purity.

It is frightening but true: Jesus’ criticism can well be made of us and of the Church. The Church is always in need of reform and renewal. Church officials and members must repeatedly examine themselves and change accordingly.

Recall situations in your life when you were

“full of plunder and self-indulgence.”