Skip to main content

Unmarked Graves


#DAYLIGHT – Daily #MenOfLight#GospelReflection
October 16, 2019
Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 11: 42 - 46
Sharer: Bro. Mike Lapid

++++++++++++++++++++

The Gospel
42 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. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”
45 Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” 46 And he 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.
++++++++++++++++++++


Reflection


Unmarked Graves


In our reading today, we see Jesus sternly warning the scribes and pharisees. At that time, scribes and pharisees were members of the religious elite who played a prominent role in the religious life of the country. Pharisees were lay people who were very much involved in the religious affairs of local communities especially in their synagogues. Scribes, also called scholars and lawyers, were on the other hand, experts of the Law of Moses. They, too played an important role in the religious formation of Israelite society as they guided everyone regarding the interpretation of the Law.

Notwithstanding their prominent role in society, Jesus sternly warns them and exposes their wrongdoing. First, Jesus singles out the Pharisees who focus much of their attention on tithes, offerings and other small details but neglect what is most important which is to do what is just and to love God above everything else. In effect, Jesus was telling them that they have disregarded the two great commandments of the law which is to love God above all else and to love one’s neighbor by being just and fair to all. Moreover, Jesus points out their inordinate need and desire to be seen and be praised by people by choosing seats and places of honor where they could be acknowledged by everyone. Then, Jesus also gives his warning to the scribes whom he accuses of imposing on people burdens that are hard to carry but would not lift a finger to help them.

What does this reading tell us?

First, it tells us that the practice of our faith should bring about love and justice; it is love for God above all else and love for our fellowmen by being just and fair in our relationship with them. Without growing in love, our faith becomes merely ritualistic and cultic. We can do everything that religion tells us to do; its rituals and its practices. But if we do not grow in love and justice, then our faith doesn’t make sense at all. It is this disregard for justice and the love of God for which Jesus criticized the Pharisees. How can we even tell God that we love him, when we are not fair to our neighbor? How can we claim to be righteous when we remain indifferent to the plight of the poor and to those who suffer injustice? The heart of the commandment is love. Until we grow in love, all else, including our religion, become meaningless.

Second, the practice of our faith is not a show. We express our faith outwardly. We make the sign of the cross, we pray the rosary and go to Mass. We manifest our faith through our actions. But these outward manifestations of our faith are not meant to impress others. Jesus accuses the Pharisees for making a show of their faith and for trying to make a good impression on others through their religious practices.

Third, Jesus accuses the scribes for imposing burdens on others without them even helping others to overcome these burdens. Our faith is one of compassion. Jesus came to unburden us of all our sins by carrying them himself. He knew the burdens we had to carry, so he carried them himself for our sake. Let us not make things difficult for others to understand our faith. Our faith is beautiful and simple. We have to help our fellowmen understand and love our faith so that they can live the life that God offers each and everyone of us.

By the end of our reading, Jesus gives us a stark visualization of what happens to people who behave like the Pharisees and scribes. He tells the Pharisees that they are like unmarked graves over which people unknowingly walk (v. 44). Unmarked graves are graves of the dead who remain unknown and forgotten. Nobody remembers them. Nobody would ever come to visit them.

When the practice of faith and religion becomes a mere external show, then people become in the end, unmarked graves. Nobody remembers them, not even for the grand show of piety that they have put up to impress. Such is the fate of those who use religion to advance personal interests.

However, when faith becomes an expression of true love for God and one’s neighbor, then people will remember. People who have lived loving and compassionate lives need not fear of being forgotten when they die. They will not become unmarked graves over which people unknowingly walk. Their memory will live long after they have died because they have lived loving and compassionate lives.


++++++++++++++++++++


Prayer


Dear Lord, I have never missed Mass in my life. Nor have I missed praying the rosary or saying prayers day and night. I have dutifully attended to all my obligations in church. Today, however, you tell me that this is not enough. You ask me if I have indeed grown in my faith by growing in love for you and my fellowmen. Grant me Lord a faith that does justice; a faith that has compassion for the weak and the poor; a faith that seeks to grow in love. Amen.


++++++++++++++++++++


Assignment

1.    Do an act of kindness today to people who may be suffering.


++++++++++++++++++++


Quote


People who make faith and religion a mere external show become unmarked graves in the end.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ash Wednesday

#DAYLIGHT – Daily #MenOfLight #GospelReflection February 26, 2020 Ash Wednesday Gospel: Mt 6: 1 – 6, 16 – 18 Sharer: Bro. Mike Lapid +++++++++++++++++++++++ Gospel “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2  “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3  But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4  so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5  “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6  But whenev...

Parable of the Sower

Parable of the Sower 15 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mt 13: 1 – 9 Introduction Today’s reading presents to us the parable of the sower. This parable compares God to a sower sowing the seed of his word. The Gospel That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2  Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3  And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4  And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6  But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8  Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth...

The Road to Jerusalem

The Road to Jerusalem Luke 9:51-62 13 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Introduction Today’s Gospel speaks about Jesus’ resolute will to head to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was to be the place where he would suffer and die. His determination to head to the city of David speaks of the urgency of this task and his single mindedness to fulfill his mission. The Gospel Today’s Gospel was written by Luke the evangelist. Luke tells us that when the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. But before that, Jesus and his disciples had to pass by a Samaritan village. Jesus sends ahead of him some messengers who entered a Samaritan village to prepare a lodging for him. But the people in that village refused to receive him as they came to know that he was headed towards Jerusalem. Samaritans and Jews in those days were at odds with one another. Samaritans were generally unfriendly to Jews heading to Jerusalem as they passed ...