“You impose on people burdens hard to carry, you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.” (Lk 11:46)
FIRST READING: GAL 5:18-25
A reading from the Letter to the Galatians
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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY: LK 11:42-46
A reading from the Gospel of Luke
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.”
28th WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Lk 11:42-46)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
In the Word of God in today's Gospel, God wants to teach people a lesson: to be humble, and to live justly and lovingly with one another; because in today's world, people live in lies, injustice, hatred, jealousy, and division.
God calls on His children to be alert to their actions and deeds; do not fall into Satan's trap; because they will infiltrate the minds and actions of each person to cause injustice between people. And from that injustice will arise jealousy, hatred, division, and lack of trust in each other. God does not want people to see that there is hatred between them, and that they are killing each other.
Therefore, the Word of God today calls everyone:
to have absolute trust and confidence in God, and listen to and follow His teachings, which are: to live with love, justice, and charity towards others. To live that way, each person must be humble, self-abasement, simple, and small before God and others; because only when people have love, forgiveness, and humility can they overcome the temptations of Satan.
In addition, God invites everyone: look at the image of the Pharisees and the scribes, and draw a lesson for yourself: do not, because of keeping the formal law, fail to live and practice according to what God calls for. What God calls for is to live by the law of love. This is the only and most perfect law, placed above all the laws that humans have given. Through the Word of God today, God also warns the successors in the Church: do not treat your fellow human beings with the “law”; because if you use the law to judge, without love between people, you will fall into Satan's trap.
Therefore, the Word of God today calls everyone in the world, especially the leaders in the Church:
Treat your fellow human beings with the law of love, the law of charity.
Look up to God's love for humanity and imitate it in treating your fellow human beings. God does not want His good shepherds to fall into Satan's trap, which is: using human laws to judge their fellow human beings.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Comments