The Gospel for Tuesday of the 21st week in Ordinary Time is taken from Matthew 23:23, 26th verse Jesus said, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes on mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law, judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done without neglecting the others, blind guides who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, you cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean. If religion loses its focus, if those who are in charge of a religious community lose a sense of what’s really essential, it’s often that they replace what is essential, what is most basic, with things to do, ways to act without any reflection on transformation.

So in this passage we see so clearly Jesus saying, in place of the law, which are the Ten Commandments, you have simply turned all of that into a long list of how to wash dishes, how to clean a room, how to fix anything. It was turning from the essence of the law to simply things that gave you a sense that when you did them you were pleasing God. Please reflect on the wisdom found in these readings and then I will close with a prayer. Satan Foreign the closing prayer practices in religion are important, but their goal is always to put us in touch with you, God, in a personal relationship where we feel your presence, know you are with us, and engage with you so much so that we are able to share your gifts with others, bless us with that kind of integrity and keep us away from busy work that gives us the illusion that we are holy. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.