Guided reflection:

Once again the Pharisees are on Jesus about not washing right, eating right... and Jesus let’s ‘em have it! He tells them they are like dead men walking around pretending to be alive when they are doing dead rituals! They lay heavy burdens on people and keep people from being free! Not only do they not pay attention to the truth they should know, they stand in the way of others finding out the truth! Ouch! Do rules and obligations really fill your soul? May we not be a people who spend our time focusing on what other people are NOT doing… but may we focus our attention on being open to a new truth – and heaven forbid – may we never stand in the way of another finding the truth of God’s love. Are you a rule keeper? Are you disappointed in others who just don’t seem to do the things you think they ought to do? Can you give them to Jesus and let Jesus take care of them?

Guided prayer::

“Dear Lord in heaven, help me not to be like the Pharisees and lawyers in this scripture! Do I have a little black book in my heart that has a list of who is in, who is right, and who is not? Help me to discern what is truth and what is not… but help me see that Christ died for all, not just those who do things right according to me. Help me to know the right things instead. Amen”