Jesus has hard words for the Pharisees today but let us see His criticism not so much directed at a whole group of people (some of whom were genuinely good people) but at a way of thinking and behaving. And let us be clear: we can find such people in our own Church today and perhaps we have been guilty of this kind of thing ourselves when we have passed judgement on others or have been an obstacle to people coming closer to God. Daily we see the abuse of authority and power, whether in the Church, in government, in business - leading to all kinds of greed and corruption which undermines the very fabric of our society. But we can also see it in our own homes as parents and in our schools as teachers. We can avoid all this by changing our attitude from one of control to one of service and a genuine concern for the good of others.