We none of us are Pharisees, you know. We read the text of the New Testament and we are both entertained and appalled at the rigid self-righteousness of the Pharisees, their comical inability to see the wisdom and truth of the sayings of Our Lord, their unbelievable lack of self-awareness about their status in the eyes of each other, in their own eyes, and in the eyes of Our Lord.
We laugh at how easily they are consumed with righteous anger at the smallest and most trivial of things such as seeds and sand and salt. How could anyone not get the point, that when Jesus is with us it is a feast, a party, a returning, a celebration, a joyous family reunion? How could anyone not see the love that Jesus spoke about being displayed in his actions, and becoming displayed in the lives of his disciples? How could they miss the compassion, the sacrifice, the service, the giving, the wonderful, wonderful joy?
Indeed, how is it possible for the Pharisees to be so close to the Kingdom of Heaven, and yet so completely unable to enter in and enjoy it?
But yet I wonder…maybe there is just a little bit of the Pharisee about us.