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Gospel: Luke 11: 47-54
The Lord said:
“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute’
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Jesus stares at the religious leaders of his day and cries out, “Woe to you hypocrites!” It is scenes like this that inspire the authorities to plot Christ’s death. Jesus was not only questioning their character; but he was also challenging their spiritual authority.
The word “hypocrite”originally referred to someone who wore a mask, an actor on a stage. Although the scribes and Pharisees masquerade in religious attire, their hearts are filled with corruption.
These leaders have made several mistakes, which believers can still make today.
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First, we’ve all heard the old saying, “Practice what you preach.”
It’s one thing for us to speak about Jesus. It’s another thing to live like him. Yet this is the standard which Christians are held accountable to – loving God with all of their heart and their neighbor as themselves.
As Mother Teresa once said, “Preach always. When necessary, use words.”
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Second, the scribes and Pharisees were cunning.
They imposed heavy legal and spiritual burdens on God’s people, but were experts in making loopholes for themselves.
In a word, they lacked accountability, something which the Church has also struggled with over the centuries.
We should remember, God is always watching us – not with a judgmental eye, but with an interest in fairness. As the Lord says elsewhere, “Do to no one what you yourself dislike.” Rather, we should lead by example.
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After reading through the “woes” of Jesus this week, we can boil them down into two similar sayings:
Practice what you preach.
And actions speak louder than words.
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