Justice

“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering." (Luke 11:52).

Pieta with Two Angels (Annibale Carracci)

Sometimes, Christ is very harsh in what He says.  His words are very direct and very hard to hear.

I have recently been reading the warning of Christ to the Pharisees.  In it He says, “Woe to you…” (Luke 11:47).  And I have been thinking about this a lot of the last few days.  In the passage, Christ warns the Pharisees that God is unhappy with them because they are “experts of the law” or “lawyers”.  And I have been wondering what this means…

“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them.  So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.  Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’  Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,  from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.  Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.’  When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say.” (Luke 11:47-54).

In this passage, Christ is not telling lawyers (like modern day lawyers, judges, solicitors or barristers) that woe is to them.  Rather, He is saying that the people who are responsible for teaching the Word of God are FIRST responsible for living it.  He is speaking of religious people.  Those people are warned that they must be careful to teach God’s WORD and not their own.  It is – after all – very easy to fall into the sin of Pride and convince myself that in speaking the word of God I have somehow been elevated to be His second cousin!

And the easiest way to understand how to keep the distinction between my pride and God’s word clear, is to remember the words of Saint Teresa of Avila who said, “For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God…  This friendly conversation will not be much thinking but much loving, not many words but rather a relaxed conversation with moments of silence as there must be between friends.”

And I have been thinking about that today as I have been thinking about justice.  For it seems to me that there is so much that I have yet to learn – and most of that learning must take place in my soul – for I am using my head far too much!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.