The Lord is always calling us to deeper conversion and greater transformation in Love. Afterall, this is the reason we were created.
His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
(2 Peter 1: 3-4)
Jesus is quite serious about seeing us fulfill the purpose and destiny for which we were created. There are even times our Lord is rather direct in His efforts to direct our hearts on this path.
Specifically, there are a number of particularly blunt passages from the Gospel of Luke. In these exchanges, Jesus confronts what is arguably the single greatest tragedy that can befall a person.
Here is a sample:
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.
(Luke 11:42-46)
These seem like harsh words, but of course we know Jesus is always charitable; He always does what is in the best interest of the person to whom He is ministering. Because of what His listeners have done, and because of who they are, Jesus is aware of the difficulty He is confronting, and He responds accordingly.
The Pharisees were supposed to be the ones who led the people to a deeper understanding of their faith. And the scholars of the Law were supposed to be teachers of the Law; they were supposed to unlock its deeper meaning.
Instead, both these groups have led themselves astray. And even worse, they are leading many others along with them.
But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13)
In fact, Jesus’ reference to the Scholars as unseen graves is quite deliberate. It spoke to the custom that burial locations of rotting corpses should be marked with white lime and avoided, for fear the already deceased would spread the disease that killed them to anyone approaching their burial location. Not exactly a subtle analogy.
Jesus did not intend to be subtle. These leaders lost sight of the essence of God’s life-giving message and were infecting their listeners with the same condition. They essentially used the elements of their faith to anesthetize their hearts to the true meaning of the Jewish Law, a meaning found only in the person and the message of Jesus Christ, a message of repentance and love.
You pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. (Luke 11:42)
These individuals were in great danger for having lulled themselves into a spiritual coma. If Jesus did not help them awaken their consciences, it would lead to their eternal damnation.
The centerpiece of their delusion, as is so often true, was pride. We see this clearly in the reply of the Scholar who says to Jesus, “You are insulting us,” as though his wounded pride were more important than the Son of God calling him to repentance and transformation in Love.
What might be the message be for us in these challenging words of Jesus. Only that we should daily examine our conscience, and we should see if we have fully lived out the Gospel call to remove anything from our lives that might be subject to God’s judgment. And, even more importantly, that we should, with the help of His grace, strive to do everything for the love of God and our neighbor.
Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.
(1 Peter 4:8)
Let us pray this week that we might take the time to examine our own conscience, and seek to remove anything impediment to our Love of God.
Copyright © 2024, Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit:"Les pharisiens questionnent Jésus (The Pharisees Question Jesus)," James Tissot (Brooklyn Museum), Public domain, via WikiArt