First Reading - Romans 3:21-30
Gospel - Luke 11:47-54
In the first reading, Paul teaches about the importance of faith in Jesus Christ in contrast to the Jewish Law. Paul argues that it's through faith in Jesus, we are saved and not by mere observance of the petty law (concerned about the law of circumcision). The Law of Moses has been replaced by the sacrifice of Christ through which he has reconciled us to God, thus our faith in the person of Jesus leads us to our salvation. It's here Paul demands our faith in Christ. This also must be taken into consideration that faith does not exclude our righteous action but is intertwined with faith. This is to say, Paul in the first reading stresses on the integrated life or faith lived life which is the gateway to salvation.
In the gospel, Jesus criticized the blatant hypocrisy and false zeal of the scribes and the Pharisees in decorating the old monuments and building new monuments for the past prophets who had been persecuted and murdered by the forefathers of these same Scribes and the Pharisees, while they themselves did not obey the injunctions of these past prophets. Abel’s martyrdom is the first recorded in the Bible (Gn 4:8). Zechariah was a prophet who died by being stoned in the temple of Jerusalem around the year 800 B.C. because he accused the people of Israel of being unfaithful to God’s law (cf. 2 Chronicles 24:20-22). The murder of Abel (Genesis 4:8) and that of Zechariah were, respectively, the first and last murders reported in these books which the Jews regarded as Sacred Scripture. Jesus remarked that the blood guilt inherited by the ancestors of the scribes and the Pharisees throughout the Old Testament era would spill over when the priests (most of them scribes), and the Pharisees conspired to execute Jesus the Messiah.
Since the scribes (religious lawyers), were the official interpreters of the Scriptures, they held the “office of the keys.” Unfortunately, their interpretation of the Scriptures became so distorted and difficult to understand that others were “shut out” of the Scriptures. That's why Jesus condemns their action of forfeiting people the kingdom of heaven.
Dear friends, walking our talk is a challenge because it needs guts and conviction to do so. In the first reading, Paul invites all Christians to avoid blind observance of the law that can bring no salvation but faith in Christ. However, the faith in Christ also includes living our faith in Christian praxis. Otherwise, faith in Christ will be at the level of belief but not in real living.
The gospel contains the accusations against the Pharisees and Scribes because they failed to integrate their preaching with their lives. Their life highly contrasted with their preaching and teaching. Jesus, through his denunciation, invites them, and at large to all Christians, to integrity of life. We are invited by Jesus to live an authentic life as Christians by living, preaching, and teaching our faith through words and deeds.
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