REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s Gospel continues Jesus’ denunciation of the self-serving practices of the Pharisees. “Pharisee” is derived from the Greek pharisaios (plural pharisaioi), which is the transcription of the Hebrew word hā-pe rushim or “the separated ones.” At times, we need to be separated from the rest because we are being prepared for certain tasks. However, being separated entails certain danger such as the temptation to seek self-aggrandizement that hinders us from paying attention to God’s love. The Pharisees in the Gospel fall into this trap of self-glorification. Jesus denounces their practice of seeking the seat of honor in synagogues or gatherings. The Pharisees love the prōtokathedria or the “first seat” so that they might be distinguished from the rest and be aggrandized in the process. The temptation to self-glorification comes very subtly. We might even notice it like the unseen graves over which we may be walking unknowingly. We must be vigilant. Do we pay attention to the love of God? Do we carry out our Christian mission without falling into the trap of self-glorification? How do we resist the temptation to self-aggrandizement? Gospel • Luke 11:42-46 The Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.” Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” St. Pauls, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.