A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:37-41)
The Lord said to the Pharisee, “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.”
The words of Jesus from today’s Gospel are directed to a Pharisee who invited him to dine at his home. As a guest, Jesus pours insult on the head of his host, and it is understandable that the Pharisee would have been offended. As the Son of God, Jesus directs the Pharisee to true freedom in worship of the creator. By noting that Jesus did not observe the prescribed washing before a meal, the Pharisee follows the Jewish tradition of ritual purification. Yet, here is Jesus, the invisible God made visible in his presence, who is inviolably holy, the source of holiness. Jesus redirects the gaze of the Pharisee toward what is pure and free of every form of evil. What Saint Paul says in the first reading encapsulates not only Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisee but also all of us who forget the glory of our immortal God: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever.”
Father in heaven, Lord of all, call me to you so that I can live in the freedom of the creator. I get caught up daily in the tangible things of this world, good in themselves, but often forgetting the source from which they are made manifest. “But as to what is within,” Jesus says, “give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.” Help me find you today in every good gift you give me that I can sense but also through the unseen work of the Holy Spirit, who makes manifest your presence in my inmost being every minute of the day. Give me the grace to distinguish between the creature and the creator, to recognize that you alone are freedom at its source.
From the Gospel acclamation: “The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” Lord, teach me your ways!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.