Galatians 5:18-25.
Psalm 1: 1-2.3.4 and 6.
Luke 11:42-46 Full Readings
Life in the Spirit
Brethren, what does it mean to live led by the Spirit? St Paul in the first reading encourages us to live life in the spirit as compared to the flesh (not body). He gives the lists of virtues and vices which were common in the moralistic writings of the Hellenistic age, and the lists given here help significantly to explain what is meant by Paul’s frequent contrast between ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’, or at least what is not meant, but more importantly as a guide to help us examine which type of life we are living. As Christians, our deepest calling is to live, speak and act as Jesus did. This is only achieved when we allow his Spirit to be the sole leader of our lives. The Spirit will teach us and remind us always of the teachings of Jesus and strengthen us to live up to those teachings. This life is opposed to the life of the flesh.
‘Flesh’ is not necessarily the bodily element in the human personality, for this plays little part in idolatry, sorcery, quarrelling and other ‘works of the flesh’ listed here. Some Bibles have translated the word by ‘unspiritual nature’ (REB), others by ‘self-indulgence’ (NRSV), others by ‘natural inclinations’ (NJB). On the other hand, the virtues listed are all ‘spiritual’ in the sense of being the gift of the Spirit of God. It is tempting, if not true, to understand ‘the flesh’ as being human nature unassisted by the Spirit of God, and possibly frail and disordered, not necessarily our bodies.
When we allow the Spirit that lives within us to lead and guide, we will be far from the pharisaic hypocrisy which Jesus challenges today in gospel. Jesus gives four woes to the Pharisees, Scribes and lawyers today for not living a life in the Spirit. Woe to you Pharisees who pay your tithe of mint and rue all sorts of garden herbs and overlook justice and the love of God. Woe to you Pharisees who like taking front seats of honour in synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in market squares. Woe to you, you are like unmarked tombs that men walk over without knowing, and wow to you lawyers who out heaven burdens on others and do not lift a finger on them yourselves. Do we also fall in such categories of people?
Jesus used the example of tithing to show how far they had missed the mark. God had commanded a tithe of the first fruits of one's labor as an expression of thanksgiving and honor for his providential care for his people (Deuteronomy 14:22; Leviticus 27:30). The scribes, however, went to extreme lengths to tithe on insignificant things (such as tiny plants) with great mathematical accuracy. They were very attentive to minute matters of little importance, but they neglected to care for the needy and the weak. Jesus admonished them because their hearts were not right. They were filled with pride and contempt for others. They put unnecessary burdens on others while neglecting to show charity, especially to the weak and the poor. They meticulously went through the correct motions of conventional religion while forgetting the realities.
Why does Jesus also compare them with "unmarked graves"? According to Numbers 19:16 contact with a grave made a person ritually unclean for seven days. Jesus turns the table on the Pharisees by declaring that those who come into contact with them and listen to their self-made instruction are likewise defiled by their false doctrine. They infect others with wrong ideas of God and of his intentions. Since the Pharisees are "unmarked", other people do not recognize the decay within and do not realize the danger of spiritual contamination. The Pharisees must have taken Jesus' accusation as a double insult: They are not only spiritually unclean themselves because they reject the word of God, but they also contaminate others with their dangerous "leaven" as well (see Luke 12:1).
What then was the point of Jesus' lesson? The essence of God's commandments is love - love of the supreme good - God himself and love of our neighbor who is made in the image and likeness of God. God is love (1 John 4:8) and everything he does flows from his love for us. God's love is unconditional and is wholly directed towards the good of others. True love both embraces and lifts the burdens of others. Paul the Apostle reminds us that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given us" (Romans 5:5). Let us live in such Spirit always. Do you help your neighbors carry their burdens? God gives each of us sufficient grace for each day to love as he loves and to lift the burdens of others that they, too, may experience the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
Let us Pray
Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love that I may always pursue what matters most - love of you, my Lord and my God, and love of my fellow neighbor whom you have made in your own image and likeness. Free my heart from selfish desires that I may only have room for kindness, mercy, and goodness toward every person I know and meet. Amen
Be blessed
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