Jesus condemns the hypocritical, power-obsessed actions of the legal and religious authorities in today’s story, which leads to their determination to get rid of him. We are invited to consider how his anger might be directed in today’s pandemic-ridden world. Are we brave enough to join him?
Humble Negro Cemetery, Texas. Thanks to Patrick Feller under Creative Commons.
Read the Gospel according to Luke, Chapter 11 and verses 37 - 41. We encourage you to read on to the end of the Chapter to feel the full force of Jesus’ anger!
“The pharisee was surprised when Jesus did not wash first before the meal”
This sentence takes on a new resonance in Covid times. Then, as now, cleanliness was a matter of life and death. There were stringent punishments for breaking the rules. Then, as now, those rules were harsher the lower down the ladder you found yourself.
Rules are important. We need to surpress the virus because the vulnerable are most susceptible. But with his characteristic power to cut to the heart of the matter, Jesus challenges us to name the real uncleanness, the true virus. Greed and wickedness.
ἁρπαγῆς - harpagēs - greed
In Greek, this is pillaging and plundering.
πονηρίας - ponērias - wickedness
And this, pain-ridden evil.
We do not face up to the pain created by our pillaging and plundering of the earth for our personal comfort and protection. We fail to admit we are vulnerable, creating a veneer of invincibility. This is like cleaning the outside of the cup without realising inner and outer must be congruent or we become:
ἄφρονες - aphrones - foolish
Literally, this means senseless, lacking in sensitivity. It is easy to become desensitised. We need to be resensitised and Jesus wants this for us:
“As for what is inside you - be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you”
ἐλεημοσύνη - eleémosuné - mercy
The word also means pity, almsgiving. Mercy is powerful: judge people by their humanity, not their social position or on the basis of what they deserve. Pity implies an ability to empathise, to walk in another’s shoes. Almsgiving is active: make real your mercy and pity by doing something that changes things. Then, Jesus says, everything will be clean for you.
St Cuthbert’s, Fir Vale. Foodbank at the height of lockdown.
The welcome statement from a Catholic Parish in Liverpool may be a modern expression of this generosity:
Perhaps Jesus is saying we will only cure Covid 19 when we cure the inner virus that closes our hearts to each other. When we face the poverty and vulnerability inside, then we will know what to do when we meet it outside.
Try to spend some time today reflecting on these challenging ideas.