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It's amazing how condemnatory Jesus is of this hypocrisy.  He compares such people with “whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.”   What Jesus objects to is living a lie day after day which is what such a person is doing. What Jesus wants for us is to grow into the personality that is the image that he created for us to be.

Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18

Psalm 128:1-2, 4-5

M atthew 23:27-32 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like white washed  tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. (28) So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (29) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, (30) saying, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' (31) Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. (32) Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.

Meditation by Howie Kalb, S.J.

T he character defect that Jesus is condemning in today’s Gospel passage is hypocrisy. The dictionary defines such conduct as “feigning to be what one is not.”

If we’re honest, most of us will have to admit that at least in some aspects and occasionally we can be a bit hypocritical. One has only to look at the three images we project of ourselves to be aware that this is true. There are the inconsistencies between the images as God knows us, with the way our neighbors see us and what we think of ourselves.

God’s image is without any deceit. He saw us “being formed in our mother’s womb,” has been with us every moment of our lives and knows every thought, word and action of our existence.

We know ourselves pretty well, but unfortunately, with many good qualities exaggerated and many defects passed over it tends to make this image anything like a mirror image of who we truly are.

O ftentimes we strut like actors on the stage playing a flattering part in a drama. On the other hand, through our braggadocio and exaggerations, we try to give our neighbors the look of quite a different person than who we really are.

It’s amazing how condemnatory Jesus is of this hypocrisy.  He compares such people with “whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.”  

What Jesus objects to is living a lie day after day which is what such a person is doing. What Jesus wants for us is to grow into the personality that is the image that he created for us to be.

There are two practices offered to us by God and the Church that can help us to be more honest in this area of our lives. The real remedy for our hypocrisy is asking forgiveness of God and of our neighbors.  Well, the nightly practice of the “Examination of Conscience” sure helps to make us aware of the traces of hypocrisy that still lurk in our hearts and how much we need God’s grace and help.

Jesus also gave us the “Sacrament of Reconciliation” which, when received with some regularity, will make us conscious of the ways we try to deceive our neighbors. It sure helps us to see the inconsistencies in the way we think of ourselves from the way the Lord sees us. Have you ever wondered if the unwillingness to admit one’s faults and acknowledge them in confession is not one of the reasons why a lot of people fail to receive the “Sacrament of Reconciliation” any longer?

Supplementary Reading

Blessed Wherever You Go

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands…you will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country - Deuteronomy 28:1-3

Do you want to experience more of God's blessing in your life? Living in obedience and integrity is the key that unlocks the door to His abundance. When you put God and His Word first place in your life, the Bible says you'll be blessed in the city and in the country—you'll be blessed wherever you go!

This chapter in the Bible goes on to say that you will be so blessed that you will lend and not borrow. Can you see yourself in that position? Can you see yourself living in that kind of abundance?

See, God doesn't want you to be living with a barely-get-by attitude. We don't serve a barely-get-by God; our God is more than enough! He wants you to have more than enough to meet your needs and be a blessing to the people around you.

I encourage you today to make room in your life for the blessing of God. Choose to live in obedience to His Word. Choose to follow His commands. As you do, you will rise up higher and live the abundant life God has for you!

Father in heaven, thank You for Your hand of blessing on my life. I choose today to put You first in everything I do. Help me to walk in integrity and follow Your commands so that I can honor You always. In Jesus' Name. Amen.—Joel & Victoria Osteen

GOD BLESS US ALL!

O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.

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