THE YEAST OF THE PHARISEES AND HEROD


TUESDAY, SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME  

James 1:12-18; Ps 94:12-15,18-19; Mk 8:14-21

Blindness caused by the Yeast of Pharisees

The procedure for the acquisition of wisdom, which Saint Bernard of Clairvaux outlined for us, involves three components: The first is acknowledgement and confession of sins; the second is to give thanks and praise God for everything he is doing in our lives; the third is to profess the goodness of God in our words and actions. In summary, the path to acquiring wisdom involves confession of sins, gratitude for everything, and proclamation of divine goodness. The proper working of this algorithm produces holiness in us, which is the indwelling of Jesus Christ within us. These three constitute a single motion or process leading to our renewal in the image of Jesus Christ. Thus, the three-partite motion has the Son of Man as its cause. This is clear because the purpose for which the Son of God assumed our human nature is to redeem us from our sins. So, our encounter with him produces the necessary guilt for our sins within. The Father’s revelation of the Son to us produces the awareness of our sinfulness. By this awareness of sin, the Father draws us to the Son of Man for redemption. Our Lord stated this when he said that no one comes to the Son unless the Father draws him.

The Father draws us through our sense of guilt for our sins; he does not lead us to sin in order that he may draw us. We fall into sin through our own weakness of will and evil propensity born out of regular following of our senses and evil desires, and not the word or the will of God. Saint James reiterates this truth when he says: “Never, when you have been tempted, say, ‘God sent the temptation’; God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death.” The source of our sins is our inadvertence to the word of God by which we are enlightened. To draw our attention to His word, God uses various means, such as crosses, to make us reconsider our ways. The crosses reveal our sinfulness to us, thereby opening our eyes, minds, and hearts to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Saviour. Hence, the crosses are signs of the Son of Man. We are able to stand firm when the crosses or trials come if we recognise them as our participation in the cross of Jesus Christ. So, Saint James urges us to rejoice when this is the case with us. “Happy the man who stands firm when trials come. He has proved himself, and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” Do we love the Lord? It is yes if we have carried the crosses for him.

The man who stands firm in trial or when carrying his cross has already gained the higher wisdom, for he sees the benefits of his trials in Jesus Christ. We stand firm in our trials when we consider it a privilege to share in the cross of the Lord, which he bore for love of us and for the forgiveness of our sins. Subsequently, the foundation of our standing through our trials or crosses is the acknowledgement and confession of our sins. Therefore, our steadfastness is the confession of the Lord’s goodness in words and in deeds. “Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord, whom you train by means of your law; to him you give peace in evil days while the pit is being dug for the wicked.” The disciples failed to understand the Lord’s teaching because of their focus or craving for bread. Their desire for food and drink prevented them from understanding how the Lord was using their lack of food to train them to focus on the Son of Man. The Lord pointed out the bedrock of our hindrance to spiritual growth, which is pride, but they were interested in bread. “The disciples had forgotten to take any food, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’” The Pharisees are puffed up with their righteous self, while Herod is puffed up or drunk with power.” Which of these yeasts has leavened us? Or are we taken up by daily needs? The result is the same; we are not attending to Jesus Christ. The season of Lent is for solving this problem.

Let us pray: O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.      

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