Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (11: 42-46) in which Jesus says to the Pharisees ‘Alas for you lawyers, also, because you load on people burdens that are unendurable, burdens that you yourselves do not move a finger to lift’.

Fr Paul says, we hear again  in today’s Gospel Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, but we see that Luke uses the term Lawyers rather than scribes as he is talking to a non-Jewish audience when he has written his Gospel.

Jesus is objecting to the burden that the Law can place on people.  For Jesus, the Law of God should be a joy. It should enable people to live lives of holiness, love, and mercy. At times, the heavy burden of the Law that the lawyers put; sometimes they put a maze of obligations on people; and, sometimes, they can put emphasis on another way of living. It is all these things that Jesus object to.

Today for our reflection, Fr Paul says, ‘What burdens are part of my life at the moment? How do I come to a place where I can live the Law of God with joy, giving me a life of holiness, love and mercy?’