Against the Pinched

When the letter of the law gets in the way of the Spirit of praise, when the rules are used to elevate oneself over others, when those who love God so much they can't help it get beaten down by those who are and must always be "right", Jesus gets mad. Against the pinched and petty, against the always-prudent, against those whose following of commandments gets in the way of their devotion to God, Matthew tells this story of spontaneous and unseemly devotion.

Painting by Pat Cegan