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Galatians 5:18-25
Brothers and sisters:
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R./ Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night.
R./ Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R./ Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the Lord watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R./ Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Lk 11:42-46
Jesus said, "A curse is on you, Pharisees; for the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. This ought to be practiced, without neglecting the other. A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people don't notice them and make themselves unclean by stepping on them."
Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, "Master, when you speak like this, you insult us, too." And Jesus answered, "A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on the people, while you yourselves don't move a finger to help them."
Human life is never free of burdens. Some are heavier than others. Some are given by the natural course of events, and others are imposed by those who would like to be more, to rule, to dominate. Today’s Gospel readings, both the Ordinary Time Gospel and the Marian Gospel, speak of burdens in different ways. In Luke, the burdens are placed by the teachers of the law, who impose absurd burdens and norms on the people, but do not lift a finger to help carry them. In Matthew, the burden is placed by Jesus Himself. But it is a gentle, light burden. It is a «yoke. And in the yoke, two heads are connected, so that the burden is carried between two heads. And in this case, the other head is that of Christ Himself. «My yoke is easy,» he says. But we have to learn from him. The burdens of the teachers of the law cannot be carried because they are imposed out of arrogance and pride.
But on the other side of the yoke that Jesus presents to us is his head, which is gentle, unlike the one that imposes burdens.
It is to be expected that if one of the oxen carrying the yoke is stubborn, insolent, rebellious and independent, and the other is gentle and meek, things will be difficult. It will not be possible to walk or move forward. The Lord will pull to the side of his wisdom, goodness and truth, and the other to his taste, comfort and feeling. He will want to do his own will instead of God’s will, and this will make the task very difficult. Moreover, if the burden is carried reluctantly, without counting on help, with insolence and rebellion, the weariness of the task will be greater because of the energy expended in the struggle… But the Lord invites us to rest, to walk with Him in the same direction, knowing that He carries half the burden and is therefore gentle. And then comes the promised relief.
Christ has liberated those who believe in him from the Jewish law, but that does not mean that they can do just anything. Freedom is not licentiousness, for that would make them slaves again, of what Paul calls “the works of the flesh.” They are now free and urged to do the good works of the Spirit.
It is surprising that Jesus could cure all ills – the blind, the deaf, lepers, yes, and also sinners aware of their failures. But he could not cure Pharisees and scribes from their “open-eyed” blindness. Jesus does perhaps not attack them so much for their literal observance of the last detail of the law but for getting so absorbed by the details of the law that they did not see the roots of all laws, justice and love. This is also the key teaching of Paul in his letter to the Galatians: not laws but the Spirit.
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus was the fulfillment
of the Law and the Prophets.
He knew and taught and lived
that the fulfillment of the Law and the promises
lies in the service of people and of you
in justice and love.
Let these too be the guides of our lives,
that with him we seek people
and above all the living person
of you, our God for ever and ever.
Lord our God,
we offer you ourselves through these gifts
and ask you to send us
the Holy Spirit of you and your Son.
Let him change these offerings into Jesus
and let him guide our minds and hearts
to bear fruits of life: love, joy, peace and patience
and all that brings happiness to God’s people.
May we thus live the life
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Lord our God,
your Son has spoken hard words today
not just to scribes and Pharisees of the past
but to us, your people today.
Let these words wake us up
from our self-complacency,
our peace with ourselves.
Keep us from deceiving ourselves
or wasting our time and effort
on things that do not matter;
make us absolutely sincere
with ourselves and with people
and honest to you, our God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We believe in Jesus Christ. We recognize him as our Lord and Savior. This commits us, then, to practice justice and love of God and neighbor. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
