Reflection on the Gospel for Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time (Luke 11:42–46). Jesus isn't telling the Pharisees to ignore the law. He's warning them about what happens when rules replace the heart.
In this installment of A Word of Hope, Fr. Yamil Samalot Rivera joins us from Our Lady of the Rosary Priory in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, as we continue contemplating chapter 11 of the Gospel according to St. Luke. Jesus is still trying to help the Pharisees understand the difference between following a law and living our faith from the heart.
In fact, the Master insists that it's not about ignoring the law: "These you should have done without overlooking the others." What cannot happen, for the good of our own lives, is becoming obsessed with following rules, or filled with anxiety over breaking them, rather than choosing to live the Gospel with freedom of heart. This is what Christ came to teach us, lest we go through life like "unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk."
Even more terrible for our lives and the lives of others is the attitude the Master points out in those considered scholars of the law: the hypocrisy of a double life, demanding that others fulfill countless requirements that one isn't willing to carry oneself. Jesus wants us to have life, a life in abundance. This hypocritical attitude, even from those most formed and within the Church, can lead us all to the death of our life of faith.
Fr. Yamil closes with a prayer: let us ask the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Love, that our Christian spirituality may impel us toward a simple, sincere, and deep life in following the Gospel. He then offers a word in Spanish for our Spanish-speaking viewers. May God bless you.
⏱️ TIMELINE
0:00 – Welcome to A Word of Hope
0:10 – Fr. Yamil from Our Lady of the Rosary Priory, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
0:19 – Continuing Luke chapter 11
0:30 – Following a law vs. living faith from the heart
0:38 – It's not about ignoring the law
0:45 – "These you should have done without overlooking the others"
0:50 – Obsessed with rules, anxious about breaking them
1:03 – Living the Gospel with freedom of heart
1:09 – What Christ came to teach us
1:17 – "Unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk"
1:26 – The scholars of the law
1:39 – The hypocrisy of a double life
1:52 – Jesus wants us to have life in abundance
1:59 – Hypocrisy even from the most formed within the Church
2:10 – Prayer to the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Love
2:16 – A simple, sincere, and deep life following the Gospel
2:26 – A word in Spanish
2:51 – May God bless you
📖 Today's Readings
First Reading: Galatians 5:18–25
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 1
Gospel: Luke 11:42–46
📍 Recorded at Our Lady of the Rosary Priory, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Reflexión del Evangelio para el miércoles de la 28.ª semana del Tiempo Ordinario (Lucas 11:42–46), con el P. Yamil Samalot Rivera, O.P., desde Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
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