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SCRIPTURES & ART: A look at the readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, through the eyes of 19th-century French artist James Tissot
For the past several weeks, Matthew’s Gospel has been unrelenting in his attacks on the Pharisees. They are presented as faithless husbandmen in a vineyard they try to seize for their own. They are portrayed as insincere interlocutors who question Jesus, not to learn but to catch him in his words. They are invited guests who can’t be bothered to honor the invitation. All those criticisms are summed up in today’s Gospel.
Jesus unloads with both barrels. The Pharisees might be good in what they teach, but not in their example: listen to their words, disregard their example. “Observe all things they tell you, but do not follow their example.” Why? Because “they preach but do not practice.” They are experts at what others need to do, not brothers to bear the burden: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to carry, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but will not lift a finger to move them.”
In essence, it’s all an act, first-century virtue signaling: “All their works are performed to be seen.” Jesus then singles out six examples:
Continued below.
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For the past several weeks, Matthew’s Gospel has been unrelenting in his attacks on the Pharisees. They are presented as faithless husbandmen in a vineyard they try to seize for their own. They are portrayed as insincere interlocutors who question Jesus, not to learn but to catch him in his words. They are invited guests who can’t be bothered to honor the invitation. All those criticisms are summed up in today’s Gospel.
Jesus unloads with both barrels. The Pharisees might be good in what they teach, but not in their example: listen to their words, disregard their example. “Observe all things they tell you, but do not follow their example.” Why? Because “they preach but do not practice.” They are experts at what others need to do, not brothers to bear the burden: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to carry, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but will not lift a finger to move them.”
In essence, it’s all an act, first-century virtue signaling: “All their works are performed to be seen.” Jesus then singles out six examples:
Continued below.
‘Woe Unto You’: Why Jesus Confronted the Pharisees
SCRIPTURES & ART: A look at the readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, through the eyes of 19th-century French artist James Tissot
