October 13, 2015
Tuesday, 28th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st reading: Romans 1.16-25
Gospel: Lk 11:37–41
As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to have a meal with him. So he went and sat at table. The Pharisee then wondered why Jesus did not first wash his hands before dinner. But the Lord said to him, “So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil. Fools! He who made the outside, also made the inside. But according to you, by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience
In Luke’s gospel, the clash between Jesus and the Pha-risees usually happened in a meal setting. In today’s Gospel reading, “a Pharisee asked Jesus to have a meal with him” (Luke 11:37). As host, it was unethical for the Pharisee to be critical about Jesus. But malice is no respectful of places and occasions. The Pharisee observed Jesus closely and caught him red handed eating without washing his hands.
Did the Pharisee invite Jesus so he could pin him down? If true then he was truly malicious. The problem with malice is that it behaves like the oil of a sorcerer that boils so noisily before goodness. The Pharisee couldn’t pretend to be hospitable any longer. He started lashing at Jesus to the hearing of the other guests. But he did not realize that while Jesus may have violated a mere ritual, he was violating a higher ethical standard of being charitable to houseguests.
Whether the Pharisee acted with malice or good will, Jesus took the occasion to preach against hypocrisy. He said: “you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil” (Luke 11-37-41). The meal he shared with Jesus was one great opportunity. But hypocrisy snatched the Pharisee away from this opportunity of a lifetime.
We actually enjoy a similar opportunity when we attend Mass. But like the Pharisee in today’s Gospel reading, hypocrisy also snatches us away from this opportunity of a lifetime. Consider how, instead of applying a good homily to ourselves our thoughts go out to our enemies with our hearts wishing they were around to listen and get converted. Here’s more: the tongue we use to receive Jesus at Communion is the same tongue we wag against our neighbours after the Mass.
If ordinary meals are sacred venues mutually beneficial to those seated at table, nothing less could be said of the Holy Mass. Let us strive to harmonize the inside and the outside of our personalities so that we may benefit from each meal we celebrate with the Lord. -Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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