Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 / 12:34 pm
Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today's homily.
After Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee's home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: "Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?"
Receiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: "Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"
Jesus' actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said.