Scholars of the Law

In today’s Gospel, our Lord once again denounces the Pharisees and this time he also goes after “scholars of the law.” (Other translations use the word “lawyer,” but to us today that word almost always means civil lawyer.)

Once again, we may not feel terribly concerned by our Lord’s harsh words: after all, he’s not talking to us.

Isn’t he?

While we may not be degreed and credentialed Scholars of the Law or of Scripture, a fundamental part of our being Christians is to be informal but devoted students of the Word of God.

Each one of us is called to read the Word, to study it, reflect upon it, consider it, follow it, and pass it on to others.

If we do not consider ourselves to be “scholars of the law” of God in any sense at all, then we are not being disciples of Christ.

So, to a certain extent, what our Lord says against the “Scholars of the Law” should apply to us as well.

So, we must ask ourselves, “Do we impose hard-to-carry burdens on people and then fail to lift a finger to help them?”

Do we tell people, “Don’t drink! Don’t smoke! Don’t fool around outside of marriage! Don’t have an abortion! Don’t use embryonic stem cells!” and then just walk away without helping them to understand and fulfill their true needs without violating God’s loving plan?

We must study God’s word – all that he has revealed to us. We must live it out in our lives. We must share that truth with others AND we must help them to live out that truth as well.