Wednesday October 13, 2021 - Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time - My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11, 42-46

We find in this Gospel a collection of accusations against the ruling groups of official Judaism: the Pharisees and the doctors of the Law. Sometimes our behaviors are similar to those of these people if we are not careful and prudent. It is important for us to know these people and how they act, because these groups of people still exist today among us or perhaps within ourselves:

• The Pharisees think they are "better" than everyone else. They do not want to mix with the crowd, seen as unclean and sinful. For them purity is "isolating yourself from people", "scrupulously observing all religious practices".
• Scribes want to monopolize knowledge of the Law and ordinary people should not have free access to it without their consent.

In the face of these behaviors, Jesus Christ gives us a new way of behaving as disciples:

• Unlike the Pharisees, authentic purity before God for us is not based on the performance of outer rites, but rather on inner purity as the giving of oneself to God and alms to the most needy without making any noise nor advertising.
• Unlike the scribes, the authentic interpretation of the Law has as its objective: "to help people enter the Kingdom of God in all freedom and in all truth; to help people to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ".