Posted by The WORD in other words (2021) by Fr Louie Punzalan SVD – Christ the King Seminary, Quezon City
Wednesday 28th Week in Ordinary Time
“Woe to you, Pharisees. Woe to you, scribes.”
The displeasure of Jesus towards the Pharisees and the scribes was because their observance of religion was motivated not by a genuine love of God but by the desire for social approval and recognition.
The Pharisees always wanted to occupy the best seats in the synagogue because they enjoyed being seen and noticed by all. They wanted the front seats at the presidential table for everybody to know that they were present. The Pharisees were hungry for social affirmation. They wanted to be regarded as VIPs. But their hearts were far from God.
The scribes, meanwhile, were experts in the law, but they were the number one lawbreakers. They knew the law, but they avoided the law. They, however, obliged others to follow the law. This is the religion of legalism. Little wonder that Jesus got angry with both the scribes and the Pharisees.
The scribes and the Pharisees were so self-centered that their practice of religion lacked charity and justice. They only drew attention to themselves.
The great Mahatma Gandhi almost became convinced that Christianity was the one true, supernatural religion. After graduating from a university in London, the young Gandhi went to East Africa and lived with a Christian family for seven months. Gandhi tried to observe the kind of Christianity that the family practiced. It was not how Gandhi understood Christianity. In the end, Gandhi said: “I like Christianity, but I don’t like the Christians.”
Did I became a christian out of true love for God or was I driven by my desire to be conform to the expectations of others? May Jesus be the true reason of my being a follower of Christ.
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