Wednesday August 28, 2024

Matthew 23:27-32

Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of corruption. In the same way you appear to people from the outside like good honest men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Ever wonder why they went after him? This kind of talk will get you killed. You know it is easy to sit back and cheer Jesus on as he goes after the Pharisees and Scribes. The more courageous thing I think is to ask how this applies to us. As I have often said, we don’t go to church so that we become experts at identifying the sins of others. We go because we want to improve our lives. So is what our Lord says true about me?

We are invited here to let our spirituality go deep. Playing church is easy, being church on the other hand requires a lot of inner work. May we all become experts at catching ourselves when our actions and inner thoughts do not represent the God we serve.