Jesus said in today’s gospel, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgement and mercy and fidelity.”
Did you happen to notice that Jesus compared the material things that were of value to the Pharisees and scribes, with the spiritual matters they should have been paying the most attention to, instead?
Mint, dill and cumin were valuable spices; but Jesus compared these three material things, to the more valuable spiritual things of judgement, mercy and fidelity. God is both just and merciful, and completely loyal to us, so he expects the same of us in return. In order for people to know God (or Jesus Christ), they need to see Him reflected in the lives of their religious leaders. You can not know, what you have not experienced. Therefore, it is our religious leaders’ moral obligation, to make Jesus present, and known in the world, by their own holiness and the everyday example of their lives.
This is a temptation to many of our pastors in our modern times, because they have to pay the bills for the needs of the church. Sometimes they are too focused on money, or the administration of the parish, and not as much on the spiritual well being of their flock.
Our priests are called to proclaim the gospel, and Christ’s love for his people, and to portray his judgement and mercy in their homilies. It is a temptation to only focus on Christ’s love and mercy and avoid talking about Christ’s judgement, so as to not offend the parishioners, because it will affect the donations that is needed to pay the bills with. We still need to hear the truth though, even if we do not want to hear it.
Jesus didn’t say to neglect the material things and focus only on the spiritual things in today’s gospel though. He said, “But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.”
The last sentence of the first paragraph of the gospel certainly applies to all of us. Jesus said, “Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!” Every single one of us are guilty of this, to some degree. We lose sight of our true priorities very easily sometimes, and can often only see what is directly in front of us. It is easy to lose sight of the big picture if we get too distracted with work, leisurely pursuits or material possessions, and neglect the long term good of our family relationships for an example.
Parents are supposed to love and correct their children, and this is in keeping with Christ’s command to the Pharisees to demonstrate judgement and mercy and fidelity. We are supposed to be both just and merciful with our children. But, if you focus too much on one, and not enough on the other, it can damage the children in the long run. If parents focus too much on judgement (correction), and not enough on mercy (love and forgiveness), then the parents or children can emotionally turn away from each other, and this damages the long term stability of their relationship.
Fidelity in family life means to love our spouse and our children, on a long term basis, through thick and thin. We should remain loyal to our faith in God, and our commitments to one another, to the best of our ability. This should have more of a priority in our lives than our work, material possessions, leisure activities, etc. These are the ‘gnats’ in our lives. Faith in God, and love for our spouse, children and friends in the context of long term relationships, are the most important things we should be focusing on.
The end of the first reading for Mass today, from the Letter of Thessalonians has some good advise and a blessing for us though, to persevere in seeking a good relationship with God and with those we love:
“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.”
We aren’t able to remain faithful to God and to the Lord Jesus, or our spouse, children, or friends, without God’s grace. We need God’s grace, and we need Jesus’s companionship throughout our lives. When two people get married in the church, it is really three who are joined in matrimony. A man, a woman and God. God’s grace is the glue that holds everything together. If we neglect our relationship with Him through our lack of prayers, or neglect the sacraments (especially confession), then our personal and family relationships can be negatively affected.
Maybe we could ask the Lord Jesus in our prayers today, to strengthen us through his grace and bring peace into our soul, so that his peace may flow into the world, touching all those we encounter in our lives today.
Daily Mass Readings:
Thessalonians 2: 1-3a, 14-17 / Psalm 96 / Matthew 23: 23-26
