Pharisee

Pharisees believed that all Jews had to observe the purity laws. They held to a strict code of the laws and insisted on purity because they believe that the evil of the world they were living in was holding back the coming of the Messiah. The Pharisees were considered the most expert and accurate expositors of Jewish law. Fundamentally, the Pharisees continued a form of Judaism that extended beyond the Temple, applying Jewish law to mundane activities in order to sanctify the every-day world.
At some level they believed that if they could somehow sanctify the everyday world, all the evil people and things, the messiah would come quickly and rescue them from the Roman rule. When Jesus shows up and starts breaking all their rules, of course there is no way that Jesus could be the Holy King that they were looking for. Jesus was more concerned about people and their hearts, not the sanctification of their behavior. Jesus often had the recorded "run ins" with the pharisees.

One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them. Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: "Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath rules!"
Jesus said, "Really? Didn't you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry, how they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat? And didn't you ever read in God's Law that priests carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules all the time and it's not held against them?
"There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—'I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual'—you wouldn't be nitpicking like this. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath; he's in charge."
When Jesus left the field, he entered their meeting place. There was a man there with a crippled hand. They said to Jesus, "Is it legal to heal on the Sabbath?" They were baiting him.
He replied, "Is there a person here who, finding one of your lambs fallen into a ravine, wouldn't, even though it was a Sabbath, pull it out? Surely kindness to people is as legal as kindness to animals!" Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out and it was healed. The Pharisees walked out furious, sputtering about how they were going to ruin Jesus.

Matthew 12:1-14

So I have to ask myself, "Am I a pharisee in some way?" Are there times that we get so caught up in the "rules of religion" that we forget about matters of the heart? We forget that meeting someone else's need is more important that being worried about if they are following the right rules, or participating in the right behavior as we see it. Do we, like pharisees, worry more about being right than we do about being kind? Jesus did not join the pharisees in their quest to make everything holy by the rules of religion. I wonder how individuals, groups, and churches that claim to be followers of Christ do much the same as the pharisees and leave people in their lives with all their needs exposed to fend for themselves until they can get it "right." Really I wonder how often this happens?

I am sure that people with needs that we can tolerate we help. I am also sure that people with needs that we think go against all the rules we shun and tell them they are not welcomed until they change. I know we never use these words but our actions speak it loud and clear to those looking to be fed when they are hungry.

Today challange yourself to see how parts of your thinking, your actions, your beliefs would be like a pharisee. Think about how Jesus would react and respond to that behavior or thought that you have. Be kind today rather than right.

Namaste'