Today's gospel describes a very unusual event, namely Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to dine at his house. This was unusual because most of the Pharisees were against Jesus: they could not accept his teaching and may have been implicit in the plot to kill him.

Jesus did not wash his hands before the meal. It seems that he did this on purpose, perhaps to surprise the Pharisee. Perhaps he even wanted to shock him (the Pharisee), because he had something very important to say. He used this opportunity to express a few words of truth.

In life there may be situations where Jesus seems to act differently from what one expects, situations where he doesn't follow the expected pattern and does something surprising. On such occasions, one may even feel angry and wonder how this is possible or why Jesus would behave like this. If you experience feelings of this kind, be prepared. Jesus wants to show you some truth about yourself. Do not be afraid. His purpose is not to make you feel bad. He wants to set you free and destroy the false self you may have developed over the years. The truth will set you free.