Three things
âWoe to you Pharisees!â
In todayâs Gospel, Jesus delivers a well-deserved rebuke to the Pharisees.
For having their focus on the wrong things. When we hear what theyâre focusing on (tithing mint?), itâs easy to check out for the rest of the Gospel.
After all, none of us are tithing mint or garden herbs, so weâre good. Right?
Not exactly. While weâre not focusing on the same wrong things that they were back in the day, most of us have less silly stuff that weâre focusing on. Less obvious stuff (at least to us) that serves as our wrong things.
And most of us have a lot of wrong things that we focus on. Things that weâve told ourselves are very important. Maybe itâs stuff like jobs and careers. Or stuff like wealth and material possessions. Or stuff like fame and how we look on social media. Or whatever else it is.
Truly, it doesnât matter what weâre focusing on (no matter how important or godly we might think it is), if what weâre focusing on is the wrong thing.
So how do we know what is the right thing? What should you and I be focusing on?
Actually, itâs three things. Jesus gives us three things that are always the right things to focus on.
Three things that are in practice inseparable. Donât waste your time trying to do one without the others.
Justice.
The love of God.
And bearing each otherâs burdens.
If youâre thinking, âthat sounds like a practical application of the Great Commandment*,â then you are not far from the Kingdom of God.
* âYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.â
Todayâs Readings











