A Reflection for a Penance Service (Thursday, October 6, 2022)
Altar in the chapel of Augustine of Canterbury, Abbey church
After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. Jesus 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. Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues & greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And Jesus said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them. 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.” (Luke 11:37ff.)
Jesus has harsh words in this gospel. Jesus is attacking a certain mentality which can all too easily be among us Christians and, if we are honest, sometimes in ourselves. You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. Imagine being so fastidious as to pay a tax on the few herbs you grow in your garden. Jesus attacks the Pharisees for their status-seeking. They expect people to look up to them and give them special honors because of their supposed higher level of religious observance.
Our Lady’s Altar, Abbey church
He speaks about unmarked tombs: Anyone who walked on or touched a grave became impure, even if the tomb is hidden under the ground. This image is very strong: on the outside the Pharisee seems to be just and good, but this is deceiving because inside there is a hidden grave that, without people being aware, spreads a poison that kills; it models a mentality that leads people away from God, it makes God a dead idol. The scribes, the lawyers, are in for it too. "Woe to you…You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them." Because their narrow-minded and nit-picking interpretations of the law made it difficult for ordinary people to keep the law, while they themselves did nothing to help.
What this all means for us is that we need to be careful not to put up a façade to make people think that we are better than we are, and especially not to try to convince our own selves that that is the case. Rather, we need to look at the reality of who we are. Look at Jesus, and then look at ourselves. That is the comparison and the judgment that we need to make. Not looking at everyone else and judging them against ourselves. But rather, looking at Jesus and judging ourselves against Him. Pope Francis reminds us that we don’t have to be perfect to be in the Church, since the Church, is for sinners. Like Jesus, Pope Francis calls us to be loving, forgiving people who are attentive to others, especially the poor. What is remarkable about Jesus words is that he spoke them while he was in a Pharisee's house dining with him and his guests. Whereas most people do not like to be in the same room with those they do not like or agree with, Jesus continually sought out sinners and confronted them. He would actually go out of his way and search for them. But what makes the Lord even more remarkable is how well he knows us…and still loves us.
We tend to be afraid of being “known” as we really are because we fear not being loved. We fear exposing our defects and sins to others and so we cover up ourselves as a result. We hide our true selves from people: our faults, failures and weaknesses from others. What makes Jesus truly remarkable is His ability to know us and still love us. We know Jesus loved his enemies because He continued to confront & associate with them. He did not run from them nor did He attempt to avoid them. The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. And yet, He still loves us and loves us enough to want to help us. Did the Pharisees hate Jesus? They did, because they never knew Him. Did the Lord hate the Pharisees? He did not, because He knew them. Did the Lord love them just the way they were? Of course, but even more…since He never gave up trying to make them better! And likewise with us.
Jesus was a walking contradiction, Son of God and Son of Humankind. He was intolerant when it came to sin and very tolerant when it came to the sinner. Although He appeared to be intolerant with the self-righteous and tolerant with the sinners, He was not. He loved both. He was a walking contradiction because he loved us enough to follow us and loved us enough to invite us to follow Him. He still does. On one of my trips to Haiti I found a prayer card (in French) that commemorated the installation of the archbishop who was later killed in the devastating earthquake of 2010. I think it reminds us how to be like Jesus, reminds us where we may come up short and what we might confess:
If your burden seems to be too heavy, think of the others who count on you. If you slow down, they will stop. If you become weak, they will give way. If you sit down, they will lie down. If you criticize, they will collapse. If you walk forward, they will pass you. If you give them your hand, they will give their skin. And if you pray, they will become saints.
May God be merciful to us sinners and to all who look to us for help.
Abbot Michael Brunner