The hypocrisy of the Pharisees

Wednesday,
October 15, 2014
28th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Gal 5:18-25
Gospel: Luke 11:42-46

Jesus said, “A curse is on you, Pharisees; for the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. This ought to be practiced, without neglecting the other. A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people don’t notice them and make themselves unclean by stepping on them.”

Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, “Master, when you speak like this, you insult us, too.” And Jesus answered, “A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on the people, while you yourselves don’t move a finger to help them.”

D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel
in the Assimilated
Life Experience)

Can we use today’s Gospel passage to assail the practice of Church officials who assign special seats to benefactors at Pontifical Masses? Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees’ love for front seats has to be interpreted along with the other points he raised against them, such as their meticulous observance of paying tithes to the Temple even on insignificant garden products like mint and rue. In all appearances they were strict in observing justice towards God.

But justice to God, if not complemented with justice to fellowmen, is hypocrisy. Jesus pierced the veil of their hypocrisy by pointing out the incongruence between their meticulous observance of paying 10% tithe to the Temple on all their produce, and their teaching that one can justifiably deny support to their parents by simply dedicating all his properties to God. In describing their hypocrisy Jesus likened them to hidden tombstones. Because it was considered taboo to touch the dead, it was important that tombstones were visible to warn the people not to get any closer. Like whitened tombstones, there were little clues visible in the outside to warn people about their real selves. They appeared so holy, but deep within, they were rotten corpses.

Against the backdrop of this hypocrisy, their penchant for front seats became detestable. There is nothing wrong with front seats unless these are sought after by accolade-hungry people. When your parish priest assigns special seats to benefactors at Pontifical Masses, he is doing an act of gratitude in the name of the whole parish to these well-meaning people. Gratitude, after all, is really bigger compared to the issue on who should be seated in front.- Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:[email protected]. Website:www.frdan.org.

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