Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
My sister and I have a cleaning crew come in once a quarter. It’s not that our condo is often particularly messy; we’re both fairly 
tidy people. Rather, it’s because she’s often traveling and most nights and weekends I can be found at the computer, writing or editing something. We don’t get to the serious, tile-scrubbing, corner-vacuuming cleaning ourselves as often as we’d like. The place doesn’t look that much different on the surface after the crew is gone. But we notice, and it makes us happy.
The Pharisees’ attitude in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11 is somewhat analogous. They were so concerned with the outward trappings of religious practices, the ritualistic mealtime cleansing, that they were missing the importance of what the Lord was doing (or, not doing) in someone’s heart and soul. Jesus urged them to look beyond the surface at the “plunder and evil” that lurks within, the judgmental thoughts and attitudes that can take up residence within those who want everyone to live exactly the way they know is best.
Jesus wasn’t calling on the Pharisees or us to ignore ritual altogether. Rather, he calls on us not to be self-satisfied with the condition of our souls… and to let Him serve as the best cleaning crew ever. We might not look that much different on the surface as He does His work. But we will notice, and it will make us happy in this life and the next.
