mercy and truth

I am never sure which emotion to ascribe to Jesus as he speaks to the pharisees . I can only think that he had a huge swathe of emotions - they were the ones who held the covenant and held it so tight - yet he tells them they do not hold it at all - God's mercy is subsumed under a mass of rules and regulations.

Action for God and action for humanity have become muddled - the individual can claim just about anything as religious duty whether or not it displays mercy and loving kindness.

There are not that many "have-tos" in Christianity and yet I wonder how often Jesus would come to us with that same mixture of anger and pity and say - pay attention to me - you have got me all wrong.

This is not a call for anarchy - I am not saying that all institutions are going to be wrong but we have to be watchful that we do not start allowing ourselves to drift and make excuses for ourselves which are compassed about the idea of maintaining the Church and not the Gospel.

This can mean anything from candles to conventions - it means that we must pay attention to what we are doing and saying.

I am just amazed at the depth of Jesus anger and concern - he simply cannot stand to have God's face marred by the strange precision of religious law. That passion should be ours - in whatever form it takes in our own journey.