October 11, 2022 – Luke 11:37-41
Jesus continues to emphasize what is central to our relationship with God. The Christian must be a person full of light in all things, not like the kind of people Jesus encounters in today’s Gospel. The evangelist introduces us to Jesus who, when invited to dinner by a Pharisee, went straight to the dining room and stood at the table prepared to eat. The Pharisee was greatly astonished because Jesus had not washed his hands before eating. Of course, it is highly recommended to wash your hands before sitting down to eat. This is not a matter of hygiene here, but of ritual washing. Jesus had omitted to perform a religious ritual established by the most observant Jews, although it was not actually part of the Law. The rule probably originally had a hygienic purpose, and by giving it a religious sanction, one was
ensured that it was carried out.
This Gospel page shows us that Jesus cared little about “what people will say” and whether or not it was “politically correct”; therefore like it or not, both should not be norms of implementation by one who considers himself a Christian. Jesus clearly condemns the proper action of double morality, hypocrisy that seeks expediency or deception: “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but your inside is full of greed and wickedness” (Luke 11:39). As always, God’s Word challenges us about the customs and habits of our daily lives, in which we end up converting into “values” the foolishness that seeks to conceal the sins of pride, selfishness and egotism. All this we do in an attempt to “globalize” morality into political correctness, with the sole purpose of not discord and being marginalized without it mattering what price we pay or how we upset our souls because, at the end of the day, everyone does it! St. Basil said that “from nothing should the prudent man flee as much as from living according to the opinion of others.” If we are witnesses of Christ, we must know that truth always is and will be truth, come what may. This is our mission among the men with whom we share life, seeking to keep ourselves always clear by following the model of man that God reveals to us in Christ. Purity of spirit stands above social forms, and when in doubt, let us always remember that the pure in heart will see God.
Life messages
– To belong to Christ, we must give this earthly life of ours to Him and have Him adhere as living skin to ours, to live by Him.
– Let us banish hypocrisies, false smiles, and self-interested respectability and seek the truth, beginning with being true, with being pure, which does not mean being perfect, but sometimes, it also means agreeing to correct ourselves.