By William Selvaraj csc –
Readings: Jas 1: 12-18; Mk 8:14-12
Through the gospel passage of the day, Jesus cautions his disciples saying- “Watch out, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” We can easily see that there are many sources of leaven which tempt us to become deaf and blind to the teachings of the gospel. Sometimes we too are like his disciples having closed mindset and lose focus on our way.
The moment our focus changes from Jesus to other things, we tend to stumble and fall into the pit of sins. We also fail to realise the potential of having Jesus with us and are not able to recognise his saving and redeeming power.
The attitude and behaviour of Pharisees and Scribes could be considered as the yeast. The moment I am influenced by negative attitudes and bad behaviour of others, I may go astray from the Lord. In a way Jesus cautions me to be by his side imbibing and inculcating the virtues and values of the kingdom of God. He invites me to be an inspiration and encouragement to others by living a humble and exemplary life in the society and not to be a person of bad influence.
At the same time, I must be inspired by others’ good works rather than being influenced by others negatively. Let us ask the Lord to make us aware of our limitations and weakness to work upon and become committed and genuine followers of Jesus in his mission.