Gospel: Matthew 23: 13-22
Woe comes to visit us every time we fail to love, every time we fail to provide access for others to the Lord Jesus. Throughout the Gospel we have seen barrier after barrier put before people: disciples who do not want people to have access to Jesus; Pharisees who block the way to the kingdom of heaven with infinite rules no one can bear and that they themselves do not follow; those in power threatened at the thought of losing power to a God who is open to all.
At the same time we see another movement in the Gospel – that of Jesus eating with tax collectors and prostitutes, Pharisees, doubters, deniers, and betrayers; Jesus healing people of all races and genders, touching the untouchable, cleansing the unclean, feeding all without distinction or interrogation.
Which approach are we going to follow? The way of woe leads to exclusion from the kingdom for others and for ourselves. The way of Jesus, however, is the way by which we came. We are here because Jesus invited us, not for any merit of our own. We have no more right than anyone else, yet the Lord Jesus invited us as he invites others. The way of Jesus is the way to the kingdom, the way of mercy by which we came and through which we are to welcome all others.
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