The Pharisees and experts of the Law have a somewhat peculiar habit. Throughout their Jewish history, great men and women emerged and contributed immensely to every field imaginable. For them, the prominent were revered, while the obscure, faded into oblivion. Some were persecuted to the point of execution. Could they have misunderstood these prophetic figures? The irony is that after a few generations, those very same prophets were seen in a different light and given the homage as befitting great people.

This is what Jesus meant in the Gospel today. The Jewish people persecuted every single prophet and yet the generation in Jesus' time paid homage to the martyred prophets as if their ancestors' murderous treatment meant nothing. Homage devoid of repentance is empty. Jesus warns them - and us - that tragic consequences result imminently when we come to the judgement seat of God. Anyone who manipulates their expertise to mislead people, and prevent them from experiencing the love and mercy of God, will treat themselves to woes.

The call of Jesus is for us to bring people back to God instead of preventing or leading them away. This is only possible if we ourselves have experienced this same love and mercy. When God's love hits us, it changes us so that our very lives become a testimony to his love.