FRIDAY, 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – HOMILY

FRIDAY, 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – HOMILY

BY: FR GERALD M. MUSA

THEME: THE LEAVEN OF PHARISEES

LUKE 12:1-7;

Many religious people are unable to connect their beliefs with their everyday life and that forms the foundation of the moral crisis in the world today. The great spiritual writer C.S. Lewis expresses his view on the conflict between faith and practice when he says, “I believe there are too many practitioners in the church who are not believers.” Many centuries ago, Jesus warned the multitude of people who came to listen to him, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).

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The word leaven is derived from the Latin levamen which means to raise more. For example, yeast is a leaven that is used to raise or enhance the size of the bread. Thus, yeast has an overwhelming influence on the way the bread appears. When Jesus applied the word leaven to the Pharisees, he was warning his listeners to beware of the contaminated brand of religion peddled by the Pharisees. They reduced religion to rigorous legalism and external observances. The Pharisees represent religious authorities whose lifestyle is a far cry from what they preach and who become stumbling blocks to the faith of other believers.

St. James admonishes all disciples of Christ to avoid all sorts of phoniness, pretentious, and fake life because “…The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity” James 3:17). Do we always practice what we profess?

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