Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(Galatians 5:18-25; Luke 11:42-46)
Children used to be told not to walk over graves in cemeteries. It was considered an insult to the dead
person. Those who violated the custom were taken to be careless and
disrespectful. Evidently the prohibition
went back thousands of years. It is understood
in Jesus’ calling the Pharisees “unseen graves” in today’s gospel. The Lord is telling the Pharisees that they unwittingly
make anyone who comes close to them seem crass and uncaring.
Jesus’ basic criticism of the Pharisees and the legal
scholars is that they are blind to what is truly important. He is trying to open their eyes to see how
their concern over the niceties of customs offends not only innocent people but
also God. His remarks are strong but
necessary. As Flannery O’Connor wrote, “…
to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and
startling figures".
Religiously inclined persons should check themselves
regularly to see if they are like the Pharisees. We may like to be seen as sinless and much
better than average human beings. It
would be wrong, of course, to heedlessly violate manners and customs. But we should openly recognize that we too
struggle at times to do what is right.
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