Romans 3:21-30
Luke 11:47-54
Scripture tells us in James 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers… for they that teach shall be judged with a greater judgment. In today’s gospel, Jesus rebuke the lawyers and accuses them of several woes. He chastised them saying, ‘their fathers killed the prophets while they, in turn, built the tombs as an endorsement of their fathers’ deeds.’ From the killing of Abel to the killing of Zechariah, the persecution of the prophets and the blood shed will be required of his generation for they never listened to the voice of God through the lips of the prophets and did not practice what they preached. Instead, they deprived people from having access to the knowledge of God thereby becoming an obstacle on the path of salvation not only for themselves but also for others.
Psalm 119:99 says I understand more than all my teachers because I meditate on your instructions. Anyone who has faith in Christ is a child of God. In Matthew 11:25, Jesus says, “ I bless you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to little ones.” The little ones here are those who accept Jesus with a humble heart and confidently believe in his word. They will have access to the wisdom that the Holy Spirit offers. The payoff therefore is to learn from history and obey Christ the Truth will set us free.
If a man teaches with moral authority, he teaches only that which he does and practices but when the conscience becomes an obstacle to speech, then what is preached becomes difficult to accept’. (Pope PaulVI)
Fr Joseph Osho