Hats Off And Kneel!

British House of Commons sessions are convened according to a strict ritual. The Speaker marches with great solemnity toward the Legislative Halls. On his way, he is led through the Visitors’ Hall by a herald who calls out in a loud voice, “Hats off, strangers!” Hearing this traditional command, the spectators to the colorful ceremony respectively doff their headgear as the procession passes by. On one such occasion, the herald spotted an old friend named Neal McNeal, standing among the viewers. Impulsively, he cried out, “Neal! Neal!”–and all the spectators obediently dropped to their knees.

In today’s Gospel Lesson, the question of how to satisfy the claims made on our loyalty by God and country both is put squarely to Jesus by the Pharisees. These Pharisees were troubled with Jesus for three reasons: 1) He was preaching the primacy of the spirit over the letter of religious law, 2) He was identifying closely with the poor, the downtrodden, the social outcasts, whereas the Pharisees…