Humble Yourself Before the Lord. Jesus Tells us the Key to Spiritual Life.

Humble Yourself Before the Lord. Jesus Tells us the Key to Spiritual Life. Humble Yourself Before the Lord. . . . The words from the readings of the Prophet Isaiah (not included within this audio) are particularly strong. Listen you people from Sodom and Gomorrah . . . God is speaking to Israel, not to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord references two cities, recognized for their sinfulness. These two cities were destroyed because of their wickedness. Yet, the Lord references these cities when talking to His chosen people. The reading becomes even sharper when we understand what causes the Lord to say these words. The Lord references the sinfulness of exploitation of the poor and the weak. The Lord talks of this wickedness in terms of the wickedness of the two cities. Imagine the chosen people lumped into the discussion of the two sinful cities. The Lord, through this way of speaking, is holding out a moment of grace. However wicked your deeds, the Lord offers mercy, if the people are willing to turn from these wicked deeds. Hear more within the Homily. The grace is available if the people, if you and I, are willing to change. Hear more within the Homily. In the Gospel, Jesus wants to address a temptation that is often found within the hearts of the faithful. That is . . . if I have a leader that doesn’t meet my standards, I am not obliged to obey or follow what he or she says. It is a classic temptation and mistake. For example, we see it often today. “I do not go to Church, because it is filled with hypocrites”. Christ tells us that is a mistake. . . . Jesus Tells us the Key to Spiritual Life. Jesus describes the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees. Our Lord tells His disciples about the Pharisees. There are two elements about these men. First, they do occupy a place of legitimate authority in the life of the people. They are the custodian of the Law and occupy that position. The second element is they do not occupy it well. Jesus explains this further to His disciples. Jesus explains