Matthew 23:1-12 is a good checklist for our practice of religion. So many sermons are appropriate for all those Christians who are not there in church to hear them. This Gospel story and these comments are written especially for those who come to church - those of us who consider ourselves the faithful. Jesus spoke these words to his disciples. They are about the pillars of the church in his day - the scribes and Pharisees.

Rather then spend our time today giving thunder to the scribes and Pharisees (as often happens), let us see how Jesus’ words affect the practice of our religion.

Jesus says about those scribes and Pharisees: "... they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finge…