Something a little different. Jon Gruden gets a great tour of the Naval Academy. The second half of the video is focused on his presence at the USNA-Tulsa Football game. Enjoy.
Coach Jon Gruden Visit USNA
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Daily Archives: October 14, 2026
Even More
“Woe to you Pharisees!” Today’s gospel gets right to it! In our 21st century experience, we understand the phrase as one of condemnation, or at least as a warning of the coming condemnation. The phrase calls to mind the evangelical preacher admonishing the backsliding, church-skipping, no-good, no-count, reprobates who are sweating like sinners in church. Before pressing on, I would like to let you know that the expression “woe to you” appears in Greek as “ouai soi.” It arises from a Semitic expression used in the Old Testament and it took another route to the English language which captures the original sense. The expression is the Yiddish “oy vey” – a Jewish way to react when you find out how much your son’s root canal will cost. It is primarily a lament or expression of disappointment.
Is Jesus condemning the Pharisees? Possibly. He could also be expressing disappointment in how little these leaders of the faith actually understand about the God of the Covenant. Here is the cause of Jesus’ disappointment: they block the way of others to God, “locking the kingdom of God.” They are supposed to be leading people to an encounter with God. Spiritual leaders are meant to be the one who open the doors to show to the way. A reminder that our words, actions, and attitudes can either open the way to Christ for others or discourage them. Think of gossip or harsh judgment – just two of the ways love and mercy can be lost.
The scribes and Pharisees are called hypocrites because they don’t practice what they preach. Or consider yesterday’s post: “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” As the post ended: “Paul begins with freedom and ends with love because, for the Christian, love is what freedom is for. Christ did not set us free so that we would have nothing more to do. He set us free so that what we do might finally be done in love.”
The leaders obsess over the externals forgetting what truly matters: faith, mercy, justice, love. As they obsess on the minor things they are missing God’s presence, the source of all holiness that makes things holy. The Gospel invites us to examine our hearts and ask: “Am I a door-opener or a gatekeeper?” “Do I focus on appearances or on God’s presence? Do my words and actions lead others toward Christ—or away from Him? Do our lives reflect the mercy and truth of Christ, so that by our example others may not find the Kingdom closed, but wide open?”
The Pharisees and scribes had so much and they did nothing…Oy vey!
We have even more..
Image credit: FrG in Canva, CC-0
The Question
The coming Sunday is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question comes only after some false praise. The opening address to Jesus “Teacher” (didaskalos) uses a secular term rather than the religious connotation of Rabbi. Nonetheless the opening lines note that Jesus is a “truthful man” and teach “the way of God in accordance with the truth.” It is not clear who the words are intended for. It is easy to imagine these words are intended for the listening crowds. The opening contains the sort of complimentary words with which a rhetorician might seek an audience’s favor at the same time seeking to have their opponent lower his guard.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” The question had a superficial innocence about it, since Jesus, as a Galilean under Herod’s jurisdiction, was not subject to this particular tax, and so was in a position to give an “objective” opinion without his personal political status being affected. But there is little doubt that a negative answer would have been used to denounce him to the Roman authorities (as Luke 20:20 says explicitly).
The question itself is likely an halakic question that seeks to clear up a point of law or teaching. But in reality it is just a means to the already planned ends – Jesus’ execution (Mt 12:16). They are asking a question calculated either to alienate the people of Jerusalem and the nationalists (if Jesus replied in the affirmative) or to make him subject to arrest by the Romans (if he declared against paying the tax). The people in the crowd would have been well aware that Jesus was from Galilee by either reputation or the accent of his voice. The memory of an early revolt against taxes and Roman domination by Judas the Galilean would likely have been a strong catalyst for whatever his answer might be. The Pharisees are there to fan the discontentment should he support the tax, undercutting his popular, messianic support. The Herodians are there to report him to the Romans as an insurrectionist if he denies the taxing authority.
Image credit: The Tribute Money, Peter Paul Rubens (1610–1615), Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Public Domain PD-US
