Monday in the 29th Week of Ordinary Time, October 23, 2023

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”  Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”

“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”  From this plaintive cry we can gain some insight into the civil situation of the people who inhabited Galilee and Judea at this time.  There were few formal courts for deciding matters of this kind, or other matters on a local level.  The Romans allowed the Jews to run their cities and towns without interference so long as they paid the taxes and did not harbor rioters or rebels.  We see examples of what this meant on the occasions when the Jews sought to kill Jesus before he died on the Cross, as in his hometown of Nazareth: no police force existed to break up the mob with murder on its mind.  Likewise, few courts existed to handle property disputes and those that did exist were subject to bribery or arbitrary decisions, as we see in the Lord’s parable of The Unjust Judge (Luke 18, 1-8).  Most relied on custom and tradition, and a powerful person could get his way without legal consequences.  The man in the crowd appeals to Jesus as an unofficial but influential authority who could get him justice, evidently in a situation in which there was no court or it had ruled against him.  This kind of appeal brings to mind the times of Israel’s Judges, charismatic but in appointed leaders, before Israel had kings, to whom people appealed for justice. “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”  The Lord does not involve himself in legal affairs — doing so would only encourage more such appeals and with it a growing consensus that he was the political messiah the Pharisees taught the people to await.

“Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”  Jesus takes this opportunity to teach on a deeper theme.  Now, though today nearly all people recognize greed as a vice, this was not so in ancient times.  True, the Ten Commandments marks coveting that belonging to one’s neighbor as a sin, yet greed in general was not condemned.  Many ambitious people strove for riches, possessions, and power.  But the Lord commands us not to give in to greed.  The desire for things, for more things, for better things, destroys the life of God in the soul.  Possessions can quickly become idols.  Preoccupation with acquiring things leaves no room for striving to please God.  And we are not able to pray while gazing hungrily through a store window.

The landowner in the parable asks himself: “What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?”  After God has given him a rich harvest, he does not ask God what he should do with the surplus.  His mind is wholly worldly.  “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”  He is like the rich man in the parable about Lazarus who does not so much as notice the poor all around him and would rather he be merry than that they not starve.  “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?”  We ought to adopt St. Paul’s attitude: “The appointed time has grown very short; “From now on, let those . . . buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the form of this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7, 29-31).  

“Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”  What is it that matters to God? James 1, 27: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”  That is, to do holy work for his sake and to keep free from sin, holding on to our faith in Jesus Christ.

 The 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, October 22, 2023

Matthew 22, 15–21

The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

“The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.”  The Lord Jesus has entered Jerusalem to the acclaim of the crowds who expect him to restore Israel.  The Pharisees consider him a deceiver or imposter and not the Messiah despite his miracles because he does not conform to their idea of what the Messiah would be like.  They now try desperately to trick him in his words to show him as a fraud to his followers.  Their desperation is clear from the fact that they ally themselves with the hated Herodians who seek to establish Herod as king over a revived Israel.  

In their first attempt they come and attempt to get him to lower his guard through their flattery: “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.”  They say that they know this, but in fact they do not believe a word of it.  And yet it is true, he is a truthful man who teaches “the way of God in accordance with the truth”.  How differently would have been their eternity had they only believed their own words!  Likewise, they said, “And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status.”  They had witnessed this for themselves in his previous encounters with him.  But they make a mistake here, for they themselves possessed no special status.  They were self-appointed teachers of the Law who were accountable to no one and to whom no one owed respect.  On the other hand, the Lord, who has claimed the title of Son of Man and confirmed the validity of the claim by his many miracles, possesses status.

“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”  The question is cleverly contrived.  If Jesus answers Yes, then the Pharisees can accuse him of favoring the Roman occupation.  Surely the deliverer of Israel would not do that.  But if he says No, the Herodians can report him to the Romans as one encouraging revolt.  They take a certain risk, however, for the Lord could simply ask them whether they pay the tax and go along with their answer.  This, however, would seem to go against their statement, which he accepts by default, that he is  “not concerned with anyone’s opinion”.  Now, this tax meant more than a payment of money.  It had as its primary aim forcing a population to acknowledge Rome as its ruler.  It bitterly reminded the Jews that they were a subjugated people.

“Knowing their malice.”  Matthew refers to the Lord’s omniscience.  As St. John remarked, “Jesus knew what was in man” (John 2, 25).  but even an ordinary man would have been able to see the snarl behind the beard.  “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?”  That is, “You godless men”.  The Lord shows that he knows that they come to him in bad faith.  He does this for the sake of the crowd.  “Show me the coin that pays the census tax.”  This is a sly request, for by producing such a coin the Pharisees reveal that they pay the tax themselves.  One wonders if any of them realized that he had outfoxed them this way.  “Whose image is this and whose inscription?”  Now the Lord is shutting their own trap upon them, for the Jews were forbidden to make images of men and the stricter of them refused to have anything to do with such images, and this included the Roman coins that were used to pay the tax.  The fact that the Pharisees carried these coins with them shows them as walking a very thin line.  “Caesar’s.”  Tiberius reigned as emperor at that time.  

“Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  That is, the image certifies that a thing belongs to the one whose image it is, just as a legionary was tattooed with the sign of his particular legion, showing that he belonged to it the way a possession belongs to an owner.  To hold onto coins bearing Caesar’s image might then show a person to belong to Caesar.   At any rate, the coins had to go back to Caesar.  Furthermore, the Lord compares Caesar, who has his image on a coin, to Almighty God, for whom no such image could be made by mortal men, for an image is a sign of limitations: this person or thing can be pictured because it is finite and visible.  But God is infinitely and hence invisible.  So what belongs to God that it should be given him?  We do: “God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them” (Genesis 1, 27).  We are in the image and likeness of God not through physical appearances or properties but through our possessing intellect and free-will.  We should then give ourselves to Almighty God, for we are his.  “It is he who made us, and we are his” (Psalm 100, 3).

We rejoice that we belong to God for he is rich in mercy and loves us deeply.  “Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, 

and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people” (Psalm 113, 5-8) — the “princes” — his angels. 

 Saturday in the 28th Week of Ordinary Time, October 21, 2023

Luke 12, 8-12

Jesus said to his disciples:  “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

The Gospel Reading for today’s Mass continues St. Luke’s report of a teaching the Lord gave to his disciples on his way to Jerusalem.  Previously he has warned them not to adopt the misleading but pervasive teachings of the Pharisees nor to fear them and their wrath, but to trust in Almighty God who counts even the hairs of their heads.  He expands on this in the present verses.

“I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.”  This verse comes directly after the Lord says, “Do not be afraid [of the Pharisees]. You are worth more than many sparrows.”  He is saying that if you trust in God then you will fear no one and will be free to acknowledge him, Jesus, before others here on earth.  And if you acknowledge — “confess”, “profess” — me on earth I will acknowledge you before the angels of God in heaven.  The ability to profess our belief in Jesus in directly dependent on our trust in God, our belief that God will be true to his word to protect us.  In order to be witnesses of the Gospel we must possess deep belief and trust in Almighty God.  We obtain this through regular prayer, including holy hours and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  We also obtain this through exercising our trust in God through the carrying out of good works.  

“But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.”  We deny God in two ways: through outright denial, as when we reply negatively to the question of whether we believe; or through failing to defend the teachings of the Church, through failing to speak up when our Lord is spoken of with hatred, or through sitting when we ought to stand in order to defend our fellow Christians being attacked for their beliefs.  This comes down to lack of faith in God and also the lack of understanding the teachings of the Church.  Since our eternity depends on having a strong faith in God accompanied by a solid understanding of what he teaches through his Church, we ought now to take all the steps we can to fortify in ourselves that which is weak.

“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”  In Mark 3, 38 we learn that the context for the Lord teaching this, at least on one occasion, was the accusation that he drove out demons by the prince of demons.  The Lord seems to repeat the teaching here as part of his counsel to his disciples on the perils that shall threaten them on account of their faith.  This “blasphemy” against the Holy Spirit comes in the form of despair of one’s salvation or presumption of it.  That is, that God will fail in his promises or that we do not need to pray for God’s help.  The first results from the fear the Lord warns us of; the second, from taking his aid for granted.  The Holy Spirit is said to be blasphemed because it is through the Holy Spirit that we receive the virtue of faith.

“When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say.”  The Lord counsels his disciples “when” not “if”.  “They” here means the Pharisees and local Jewish authorities as well as the authorities in Jerusalem and in other cities.  We today can understand this as when we are placed in any danger because of our faith.  The Lord tells his disciples again not to fear about their defense.  Since their “crime” is belief in Jesus, and since belief in Jesus gives eternal life, the believer wins his victory whether he is freed or is condemned to death.  As St. Paul would write, “With all confidence, as always, so now also, shall Christ be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ: and to die is gain” (Philippians 1, 20-21).  “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”  The words they would speak, given them by the Holy Spirit, would be for the benefit of those assembled in judgment, to provide witness to Christ so that they might be converted, and for the strengthening of other believers: “And many of the brethren in the Lord, growing confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear” (Philippians 1, 14). 

“Wherefore, brethren, labor the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time” (2 Peter 1, 10). 

 Friday in the 28th Week of Ordinary Time, October 20, 2023

Luke 12, 1-7

At that time: So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees.  There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

“So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot.”  Whenever he can, St. Luke emphasizes the size of the crowds attracted to Jesus.  The Gentiles to whom the early Christians preached puzzled over why the Lord’s own people rejected him, and why they should accept him.  Luke tends to lay the blame for their rejection on their weak faith, as exemplified at the very beginning of his Gospel by the priest Zechariah’s hesitancy to believe the message of the angel Gabriel.  By telling of the crowds, the Evangelist shows their initial attraction, but they do not hold fast to the Lord’s teachings.  They have no root: “They have no root in themselves, but are only for a time: and then when tribulation and persecution arises for the word, they stumble” (Mark 4, 17).

As the crowds assembled, the Lord speaks first to his Apostles: “Beware of the leaven — that is, the hypocrisy — of the Pharisees.”  He warns the Apostles lest they should be drawn into the thinking of the Pharisees, so pervasive at the time.  Their godlessness, the proper translation of the Greek word here rendered as “hypocrisy” is called “leaven” — yeast — because of how a relatively small group of people can poison the religious understanding of an entire people.  We might compare those theologians who propose or espouse teachings opposed to the Catholic Faith today to the Pharisees of the Lord’s time and who have had an oversized influence among Catholics.

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.”  The Lord may have intended to continue to speak on the “leaven” of the Pharisees, seeing as how it spread in an almost hidden way due to a lack of opposition.  The Pharisees had to themselves the whole field of teaching the Law to the people and, with no one to question their assertions, they spread as certified doctrine.  But this “leaven” will be revealed to the world as godless on the last day when the Lord comes again, and to questioning minds long before that.  “Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.”  The Lord draws the conclusion for his Apostles from his teaching: Just as the godless errors of the Pharisees will be revealed and the Pharisees punished for it, anyone who falsified the teachings of Jesus Christ will be shown to be a false teacher or false prophet.  How carefully, then, we should study the Lord’s teachings so that we understand what he intended to teach and not cherry-pick or deliberately misinterpret them to fit our own agenda.  And this is godlessness.

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more.”  The Lord further counsels his Apostles not to have concern for their rejection by the Pharisees and being cast out of their synagogues, with all the consequences that would follow.  He is saying: Do not succumb to their pervasive teaching of the Pharisees, do not join them, and do not fear them.  Rather, persevere in the word of God which he is giving them.  “I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.”. The Lord is saying: If you are going to fear anyone, fear God, who alone is the Master of life and death and can cast into hell; who else is worth fearing?  “Gehenna” was a place of abomination outside Jerusalem where human sacrifices were offered and cursed by the Prophet Jeremiah: “Behold the days come, says the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor the valley of Gehenna, but the valley of slaughter” (Jeremiah 17, 6).

“Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.”  that is, If you are to fear anyone, fear the One who gives life and death and casts into hell, but do not fear him because he loves you and cares for your needs.  “Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.”  Fear not, for no detail of your life escapes his notice.

“If God be for us, who is against us?  He who spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how has he not also, with him, given us all things?” (Romans 8, 31-32).  This freedom from fear allows us to confidently spread the Gospel through our words, deeds, and prayers.

 Thursday in the 28th Week of Ordinary Time, October 19, 2023

Luke 11, 47-54

The Lord said: “Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your fathers killed. Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building. Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood! Woe to you, scholars of the Law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your fathers killed.”  “Memorials”, that is, tombs.  The Lord may be referring to a tomb complex either recently built or still undergoing construction on the western edge of the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem for the relics of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.  It still exists.  In considering the meaning of this Gospel Reading we should keep in mind that the Jews identified themselves in their ancestors and in their descendants.  For them, ancestors was both identity and destiny.  In building the tombs of the Prophets, without publicly rejecting the wickedness of those ancestors who shed the blood of the Prophets, they confirm themselves to be as guilty of their murders as their fathers were: “Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building.”

“Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world.”  The Lord speaks now of the present time in which the Father will send to the rulers of the Jews the Apostles and other witnesses of the Gospel (“prophets”).  The Father sends the Apostles to them in order to offer them further opportunities to convert so as to be saved.  We see in the Lord’s words how greatly he desired the salvation of the people who would kill him even after they do so.  At the same time, he foresees that the majority of them will remain steadfast in their hatred of the Gospel and that they will persecute them and all who profess Christ.  Many would die at their hands, including the deacon St. Stephen.

“Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building.”  Some of the Fathers took this to mean the priest Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, and others to mean the Prophet Zechariah whose book is included in the Holy Scriptures.  Some scholars this was the priest Zechariah who was killed in the manner the Lord describes in the 800’s B.C. as recounted in 2 Chronicles 24, 21, in the roughly three hundred feet between the altar of holocausts on the Temple porch and the Temple itself.  Of these, the canonical prophet seems most likely since St. Matthew reports in his Gospel that Jesus gave his full name, Zechariah the son of Berechiah, which is the name found in Zechariah 1, 1.  

“Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!”  The Lord’s warning expresses to the Jewish rulers that he indeed is the Messiah whose coming they have awaited, and that this is their moment of decision: to stand with Jesus and the Prophets or to stand against them.

“Woe to you, scholars of the Law!”  That is, the Pharisees and scribes. “You have taken away the key of knowledge.”  They have so imposed their misinterpretation of the Scriptures on the people that their true meaning is lost for them: “You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”  Their sin is double, for they read the Law and the Prophets not in order to search out the truth of God’s message but in order to justify their practices, their teachings, and their promulgation of man-made customs (Mark 7, 8) such as their insistence on purity rituals.

“When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.”  That is, later, after Jesus left them on this occasion, they treated him with open hostility when they encountered him again.  On these later occasions, only a few of which are recorded in the Gospels, they “interrogated” him regarding his teachings and his claims.  

The Lord Jesus showed such mercy for these Jewish authorities who pretended to greater knowledge of the Law than they possessed, who daringly set themselves up as its arbiters without any approbation from the chief priests, who were themselves illegitimate as not of the Line of Aaron and having obtained their positions through bribery.  He allowed these unworthy people to question him in their malice so that they would have this chance to hear from him the words of the Father’s love for them.  Up until the last moment of our lives on earth we have the capability of giving ourselves to him, repenting of our sins, but how much joy we can have by doing this now and spending the rest of our lives in intimate communion with him!

 Wednesday in the 28th Week of Ordinary Time, October 18, 2023

The Feast of St. Luke

Luke 10, 1-9

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ ”

This Gospel Reading is used for St. Luke’s feast because certain of the Fathers concluded that Luke, a Gentile convert to Judaism, was included in the number of the seventy-two disciples whom Jesus sent sent out on mission.  The Reading certainly does describe the life of a disciple on mission, as St. Paul attests in his letters.  

Luke writes of the missionary journeys he undertook with St. Paul in his Acts of the Apostles but he shines his light on Paul, only mentioning himself very casually as his companion in certain episodes.  We can learn something about him from this — that he was fervent in his belief in Christ, that he was familiar with Paul’s way of thinking and preaching, that he must have enjoyed robust health during this time, and that he must have met several of the Apostles, in his travels.  Tradition tells us, in addition, that he was a greeting speaking convert to Judaism from Syria, perhaps from Antioch, which was evangelized early and where a strong Christian community grew.  We can also tell from the literary quality of the Greek in his Gospel that he had received a formal education.  At the same time, he lapses into Hebrew word order at significant points, such as in his first chapter, revealing a knowledge of that language sufficient for translating it into Greek.

It is, above all, in his preface to his Gospel that we learn about him from his own lips: “Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a narration of the things that have been accomplished among us, according as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having diligently attained to all things from the beginning, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the verity of those words in which you have been instructed” (Luke 1, 1-4).  Here we have a man of culture, formally educated in the Greek schools.  He shows meticulous care in his learning about the Lord’s life from the beginning, obviously speaking to multiple witnesses, and his appreciation of the importance of setting what he has learned in consecutive order so that his book is more like a biography than the other Gospels.  His concern is for Theophilus to be convinced of the truth in which he was been instructed, and knowing his fellow Greeks, he presents the evidence which he, as a trustworthy recorder, has gathered from sources of which he feels confident, and presents the evidence in an orderly way.  

As for what else can be said about St. Luke, he followed his Gospel with the priceless account of the spread of the early Church contained in the Acts of the Apostles.  St. Paul also called him his “divine physician”, leading to him being considered a patron saint of medical doctors.  Paul, in 2 Timothy 4, 11, says that Luke is with him in Rome, even after other supporters of his had left.  Luke is said to have died in Greece.

With the help of St. Luke, may we present the Gospel of Christ in our deeds and words so that others will know that the Kingdom of God is at hand for them.

 Tuesday in the 28th Week of Ordinary Time, October 17, 2023

Luke 11, 37-41

After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

According to St. Luke, the context for the text used for today’s Gospel Reading begins with the Lord speaking to a crowd as he is moving along towards Jerusalem.  He has taught the disciples to pray and has rebuked those who asked him for a sign from heaven, as though his miracles were not signs from heaven enough.  After all this, “a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.”  This would be for the midday meal, the main meal of the day.  On occasion, a Pharisee would invite the Lord to dinner at his house but under false pretenses, intending to trap him in his speech.  This Pharisee seems sympathetic or at least curious.  The Lord, who did not spurn to eat with tax collectors and prostitutes, ate with Pharisees also.  And while most of the Pharisaic Party rejected him, such members of the sect such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea supported him. 

“The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.”  Still, this Pharisee stuck to the rules handed down from his predecessors regarding the cleansing of hands and vessels and so on, and he expected others to do so as well.  He did this throughout the day without questioning the source of the rules, which were derived from the laws regarding priestly cleanliness before offering a sacrifice and were not meant for the common people at all.  The Lord does not therefore wash.  Now, he might have washed in order to avoid scandalizing his host, but the Lord wanted to free this man from the man-made rules that were passed off as Mosaic tradition.  

“Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil.”  The Lord does not address this particular Pharisee but the sect to which he belongs.  The rest of the verse contrasts their cleaning the outside of the cup and the dish, as though neglecting to cleanse their interiors.  And so he criticizes the Pharisaic practice, for it is the interior of a vessel that most needs cleansing, and at the same time criticizes the practice of maintaining a polished exterior while neglecting the condition of the soul.  He will do this again with greater vehemence after he enters Jerusalem (cf. Matthew 23, 25-26).  We should note that the Lord does not forbid keeping a neat appearance, but insists that without cleansing the soul through repentance, confession, and penance, the neat appearance is just a shell. 

“You fools!”  The Greek text is less harsh.  The word could be rendered as “foolish” or “lacking in understanding”.  “Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?”  God makes both the outside and the inside and it is the responsibility of the one to whom he lends this vessel to care for it inside and out.  “But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”  The Lord’s admonition to give alms implies that the Pharisees did not ordinarily practice this good work.  But the giving of alms cleanses the heart.  The alms is not to be given grudgingly but gladly with love.  

Alms may be given in a number of different ways, but first we must determine as best as we can that the alms will actually aid the person who asks for it and not simply allow the person to continue to live in a destructive manner.  Since we cannot usually determine this unless we know the person fairly well, we can give the alms to charitable organizations that can put the money or goods to their best use.  In my experience, the local St. Vincent de Paul Society does this very well.  The donor can also give to the parish poor box, and donations to religious orders such as the very frugal Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa, can be trusted to feed and otherwise assist the poor in our neighborhoods.