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.”
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Reflection:
What is the meaning of the word woe?
Woe is a word that has a negative meaning and Jesus
has three woes addressed to the Pharisees and the Scribes. Why? This is for the
reason that many of the Pharisees and scribes are hypocrites. They teach their
subjects to practice this and that yet they themselves are not practicing what
they are teaching and preaching.
These woes are not exclusively addressed to the
Pharisees and Scribes, this is also for many of us who are hypocrites. We who
are not true to our word and we who often are good only with worship for God
yet very much wanting in living our faith.
But it’s not yet late for us to turn things around,
to make amends with God. For the simple reason that all of us no matter how
sinful have hope before Jesus. For Jesus condemnation is not forever. He can easily
erase His condemnation and replace it with mercy, forgiveness and love.
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