Neglecting the Most Important Things

Father Matthew Wiering Podcast

In today's Gospel we have one of a number of confrontations Jesus has with the Pharisees in the Gospel. Who were they? The Pharisees were a group within Judaism that were devoutly religious, traditional, and that took the Law with great seriousness. What was Jesus's problem with them? Their issue was not that they were pious or tried to follow the Law perfectly; rather, the problem was that they were so hyper focused on the minute details of the Law that they forget the most important things, like justice, mercy, and love. This is why Jesus called them "white-washed tombs" -- looking good on the outside but corrupted and rotten on the inside. May we too, in our religious pursuits, never lose sight of what is the most important!