Today I may be tempted to criticize another person who is not doing things the way I think they “should” be done.

 
Reading: They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” Luke 5:33.
 
Good morning, happy Friday, and many blessings my dear family.
 
In today’s Gospel (Luke 5:33-39) a group of people ask Jesus the following question: “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”
 
In 1632, Galileo was called before the leaders of the Inquisition to answer charges that his writings contradicted church teachings and tradition. He was 70 years old at the time, and was at the very least threatened with torture, if not actually tortured. The outcome was that Galileo was forced to recant his beliefs and state that his observations about the earth moving around the sun were errors and heresies. However, even after he recanted, he was placed under house arrest and treated badly by church officials until he became blind and feeble. He died on a cold, winter’s day in 1642 with his son and two pupils present. Of course, as we all know, Galileo was right, and the church was wrong – terribly wrong – because it was resistant to change. It resisted anything new.
 
Jesus ran into a very similar problem when He began His ministry almost 2000 years ago. At the very outset of what he was trying to do, he received criticism for trying to do things differently, for trying to change things. Time after time, the Jewish leaders and religious people of that day questioned Jesus, and even condemned Him, for trying to do something new.
 
It is so tempting to criticize and judge others on the basis of what we “see and observe.” This is exactly what the Pharisees do in today’s Gospel. In their eyes, Jesus should be more ascetical. He should be more like John the Baptist, eating locusts and wild honey!! We all have our own standards of what we think is best and how others should act. However, I assume that most of us don’t appreciate it when another person criticizes or judges us simply by observing our behavior! Jesus invites his listeners to look at the situation in a different way. He tells them that he is doing something new. Are we open to the “new” that Jesus may be inviting us to? This may be an uncomfortable invitation. Like the Pharisees, I can get comfortable with the ways things have always been. I may be tempted to criticize another person who is not doing things the way I think they “should” be done. Jesus is challenging the Pharisees, and us, to be “open” to other ways of doing things. He is challenging them not to judge others so quickly. Today may we be mindful of not “jumping to judgment!”
 
Sometimes we try to ‘patch up’ our lives with half efforts when a deeper change is really required. Prayer is wonderful for letting God communicate with you regarding change in your life when it is required.

Blessings,
 
Luis+