Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Reflection: Luke 11:37-41


Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time - Luke 11:37-41

The Gospel for today is extremely short (only 4 verses). Jesus had been preaching much of the day. After he finished, one of the men in the crowd who was a Pharisee invited Jesus to come to his house and dine with him. Jesus accepted his invitation.

The meal had begun when suddenly the host realized that Jesus had not observed the ritual washing that was customary before dining. The man was very surprised at this. From the Gospel we don’t know if the host confronted Jesus about this infraction of Jewish customs or if Jesus simply saw that his host was upset that Jesus had not honored one of the customs of their faith.

In the reading Jesus gets very impatient with the man and his rules and regulations. Jesus accuses the man of outwardly doing what is required by their customs. Jesus could see that the Pharisee’s heart was filled with greed. The Pharisee followed the law but what was his motivation?

Today Jesus invites us to look closely at our motivations. Why do we do what we do? Are our choices and actions prompted by our desire to truly follow Jesus’ example? Or do we do what is considered correct simply because we want to “look good?”

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