This morning’s gospel lesson may be the most troubling passage in the gospels because Jesus said a lot of provocative things to the religious authorities. The crowds were delighted with the clever ways he always seemed to best them in battles of wits. This morning’s gospel passage is different — very different.

Jesus and his disciples needed a break. Just before today’s passage begins, Jesus had a controversy with some Pharisees. It appears that the Pharisees had traveled from Jerusalem to Gennesaret because they heard that his disciples did not wash their hands properly. We know the Pharisees were fanatics about this sort of thing, what we often overlook is the lengths the Pharisees would go to prove that they were righteous, blameless, innocent, and others, in a word, weren’t. In this cas…