Have we ever had a conversation with a non-Catholic, and got the sense that they thought we were modern day Pharisees? To them we seem like Pharisees, because we have many customs and traditions, many “laws”. If we combined all the laws of the Church into books and stacked those books from the ground up, that stack might be as tall as Fr. Roy. =) Today Jesus is reminding us that church law, church customs and traditions, are not on the same level as the Law of Love instituted by God. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for allowing their own changeable laws to blind them to God’s very presence before them. The external devotions they invented, like ritual washing, were supposed to help them draw close to God. But when God drew close to them, becoming Christ Jesus, they did not recognize him. Do the laws of the Church keep us from drawing close to and following Christ?
Sunday – Ordinary Time – Week 22 – Year B
