Shanborlang Mawrie csc
Readings: Gal 5:1-6; Lk 11:37-41
“But the Lord said to him, ‘So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves are full of greed and evil.” It is not uncommon that we give instructions, corrections, and even conclusions to others according to what we see without sufficient information. This is not the same for Jesus, he sees the heart and the intentions of the person. This is the difference between human beings and God. God wants not external purity but internal purity.
Jesus today teaches us that the purity of the person does not depend on ritual purity but on what is in our hearts. In the same way, we can apply it to our lives as well, are we using our words and deeds only as a ritual or do they come from our hearts?
We have the tendency to observe minutely external things which are present in other persons, but we fail to see them in ourselves. At times, we are concerned only about the external purity of how to present and get appreciation from others. But Jesus teaches us today to be righteous before God which should be our main concern. This is what Jesus wants from us to be pure and single hearted.