There's nothing like religion or politics to start a very heated argument.  Truth goes out the window and the Ego takes centre stage.  It's ironic that Just when we are looking for guidance, Commandments, Obligation and Rules start competing for our attention and dedication.  Before you know it, there are regulations for everything.  Laws spring up like wild mint till, with the exception of breathing, the 'book' has to be consulted about every human activity, and the question asked, "Yes, but are they following the law?"
In this weeks Gospel, the Pharisees try to seduce Jesus into this labyrinth, and He reminds them that the interior reality of Love, its inner spaciousness, is the true guide.  Then Jesus asks them a question and it is a question with teeth.  
Origins determine people in terms of power and influence.  So who does Jesus think He is?He tells them that The Messiah is greater than David and is not just tending one household.  The law does not test the Messiah, the Messiah tests the Law.  They will not weigh Jesus in a balance, He will weigh them.

Jesus is concerned with the inner state of the acting person.  Mindless compliance with rules and regulations are a garment to be worn on the outside. This person will not put a stumbling block before a blind person because it says so in Leviticus 9,14. Choosing not to take advantage of anyone who is weak or vulnerable comes rather from being in touch with the inner configuration of divine and human love.  We move among the forest of laws knowing their ultimate purpose.  So we know when to heed them, when to modify them and when to dismiss them.  You might, in complete disobedience to the Sabbath Laws, even heal a cripple on the sabbath. (Matthew 12, 1-13)

A hard working man feels guilty that he is not spending enough time with his three year old son.  So he sets himself to play Building blocks with him and the boy asks, " Daddy why are you angry with me?"  An elderly mother is taken into care after a stroke and her daughter is painstakingly attentive to her every need. One day, the old lady asks, "Why are you doing all this?"  Her daughter lists a list of reasons and her mother says, "Rubbish!" When questioned, her mother replies, "We don't need all those, we love each other, that's enough, right?"

Someone once said, "There are only two things that are certain in life; death and taxes!" 
In today's Gospel, the Pharisee tries to draw Jesus, not into a search for the truth, but into a battle where there can only be winners and losers.  This is his mind set and he cannot liberate himself from it.  So everything becomes conflict.  Territory has to be defended.  And, as James Finley so rightly stated, "Anyone who has territory to defend is already finished".
Like a wise old fish, Jesus refuses to be baited.

So, the Pharisee, who hasn't had much experience of losing, sets trap number two.  He invites Jesus to choose between two false alternatives.  Yes or No!   In some situations, this is okay.   Is it snowing? Are the lights on? Did I remember to unplug the iron? 

But relationships, prayer, community and even morality rarely fit these narrow parameters.  These require thoughtfulness, discernment and careful exploration.  Avoiding the trap of Yes or No creates the space for a better approach.

Next. Notice how Jesus does not try to put his opponents down, or to win in such a way that they are discarded or demeaned.  He names their malicious and ego driven intent - He knows their game.  And then, He invites them to walk the tightrope of tension between God and the Emperor.  In this way, He offers us a map on how to better navigate the complex world of faith and relationships.

From the Taoist wisdom Tradition: Once upon a time, a boatman saw another boat heading towards him in the fog.  He called out a warning but the boat just kept on coming.  He yelled to no avail. Then he started shouting and screaming and cursing as the boat came closer and closer. When the boat was close enough, he realised it was empty.  Immediately, his fear and anger subsided and he steered his own boat away, avoiding a collision.

" It is easier to fight to be right than it is to be empty to be true." (John Shea, p.304) 

Parents dress their children for Baptism in a wedding gown.  And when they arrive at the Church, they are asked if they really, really understand that they are enrolling their little one in the School of Love.  Godparents are asked if, instead of vanishing from sight after the service, they are ready, willing and able to support the parents in their role as 'first and best teachers' in the School of Love. Quite often, parents and godparents are surprised that this is what they are signing up for.  And even more surprised when they hear that their understanding of Love, and what they teach about Love, needs to be shaped, over time, by Jesus, and not by the world (who only love those who love them and who only give for what they can get back) or by the sentimentality that makes good movies.
Today's Gospel teaches all of us who are in the School of Love, that 'hearing' is a beginning, but 'just hearing' is a fatal end. Hearing must be followed by understanding and understanding followed by action.

Is our Church a two tier community made up of those who take this seriously and those whose eyes glaze over at the suggestion that they shoulda. If it is, Matthew 7, 24 - 27 has something serious to say about that.

And yet, this invitation to Fall in Love with God invites us to have respect for Time.  Some are drawn when they are children, some in their youth, some in middle and some in old age.  Some come on the tidal wave of failure, some on the elevator of success. Some, when there is now an empty place at the table where someone they loved once sat.

It is too easy to say that all will find their wedding garment in time, but it is easier still to say they some will not.  In the Gospel, all are invited: good and bad.  But good and bad are not what defines them.  I sometimes wonder if, once inside the Love we have fallen into, we may find that God has chosen, with great love, the wedding gown we will wear when we marry Him.  Yet Matthew is clear that it is better to arrive in the fully grown Robe of our Baptism, and having made it easier,  by the witness of our kindness, our holiness, our faithfulness and our integrity, for others to come to the Wedding Feast.

Lord God, You are too much like us. When lonely, You make mistakes. When love struck, You are impetuous.
But it was folly To fall upon the unsuspecting earth, Knead a body of clay And laying on it Feet to feet, Hands to hands, Breathe passion down its mouth, And wake the eyes to wonder With tears.
When you put no key in its back But trusted it to the heat of the heart And the dimness the mind calls light We knew, old doll maker That you had gone mad.
Some say You never guessed Till your love child came to you In the beauty of the Garden and asked, " When you die, will all this be mine?"