Matthew 23: 23-23. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!"
     Matthew 23: 23-23.

Chapter 23 of Matthew's Gospel rarely finds its way into the church's weekly lectionary readings. Understandably, this section of scripture runs the risk of condoning anti-Jewish attitudes without proper interpretation. Understandably, if these were the last verses of scripture in our consciousness, we would quickly despair in the red-hot judgment. I'm the first to confess I major in minors, attend to enjoyable and lighter matters before weightier ones, and strive to get the wolf of urgency off my back without taking the time to seek first the kingdom of God. I'm the chief of sinners who suffers from dieting with details and swallowing the camel instead!

Since we are "blind guides," where do we turn for guidance? First, we turn to Christ in the burden of our daily decision-making. We can face the tough discernment between lighter and weightier matters when we know that ultimately it's not up to us. Christ says earlier in Matthew: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Second, we turn to others for shared wisdom. Steven Covey tells about the instructor who was lecturing on time management. He set a wide-mouth jar on the table next to a platter with some fist-sized rocks on it. "How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?" he asked. After class members offered several guesses, the instructor put a rock in the jar. Then he put in another, then another, until he filled the jar. Then he asked, "Is the jar full?" Everybody agreed. The jar was full. The instructor reached under the table, brought out a bucket of gravel, and started dumping the gravel in the jar. It filled the spaces around the big rocks. The instructor grinned and asked, "Is the jar full?" "Probably not," the class said. The instructor reached under the table, brought out a bucket of sand, and started dumping the sand in the jar. It filled the little spaces left by the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked, "Is the jar full?" "No!" the class roared. With this he started pouring a pitcher of water into the jar. He got something like a quart of water into that jar. When he asked the class for the point of his picture parable, someone replied, "If we work hard at filling the gaps in our lives, we accomplish more!" "No," the instructor said, "Here is the point: put the big rocks in first. Otherwise, you'll never get them in." (Steven Covey, First Things First)

"Let us pray . . . Lord, we major in minors. Forgive us. Lord, we carry unnecessary burdens. Relieve us. Lord, we stumble by being our own blind guides. Give us aid and wisdom from outside ourselves. In your holy name, we pray. Amen"

Contributed by Pastor Dan
Published Monday November 10, 2003
Week 50 of Liturgical Year B