23 Aug 2021
Jesus, are You Talking to Me?
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Jesus said to the crowds and his disciples, ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
‘Woe to you, blind guides, who say, “Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.†You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, “Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.†How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.’
Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
23 August 2021 @ 1:38 pm
A wonderfully gentle approach to a rather harsh passage. The framework of questions, with the
repeated refrain of the title question, leads us very effectively to personal reflection on the
challenge and the call of this Scripture to self-examination – I’ll be with this one for a while !
Many thanks, Connie.
23 August 2021 @ 10:33 pm
Yes, Jesus is talking to me. Thanks for the reminder, Connie
24 August 2021 @ 7:23 am
There’s a lot to reflect on, and it’s all positive.
24 August 2021 @ 8:02 am
Thank you Connie for preaching this challenging Gospel and inspiring authentic lived faith.
24 August 2021 @ 10:21 pm
Thanks, Connie, a question worth asking often! I was inspired.