Lk. 11:42-46: “Woe to you, who love the first places.”

Jesus forcefully denounces the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the doctors of the Law.  He goes straight to the heart of the problem; a religion of appearances, which complies with external norms, but forgets the essential. The Pharisees scrupulously complied with small rules (tithing even on the herbs in the garden), but they neglected the fundamentals: justice and love. We, too, can get distracted by secondary things such as rites, details, traditions and forget the essential; to love God and neighbor.

Jesus also denounces religious vanity, the pursuit of honors, positions of privilege and recognition. Faith is not a spectacle or a ladder of prestige, but it is humble service. Do we live faith to be seen or truly to love and serve?