Jesus said in today’s gospel:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evil doing.”
These are sure not very pleasant words to read. Jesus was pretty upset when he addressed the scribes and Pharisees. A lot of Christians think Jesus was always gentle, loving, and a compassionate healer. He was, but Jesus also openly confronted sin and evil too. He demonstrated both God’s justice and mercy, throughout his life. It’s funny though, Jesus was mainly harsh with the Pharisees and scribes. With the average person who committed serious sins, Jesus was very compassionate, like he was with the woman who committed adultery. It seems like Jesus treated the people who were the hardest on others, with the least compassion.
Many of us feel guilty if we do not act peaceful and gentle, and live in harmony with everyone all of the time. We think Christians are supposed to be nice and that we fail to be good Christians if we lose our temper, sound negative or get into an argument with someone. A lot of people have feelings of guilt after their temper flared, or they had a disagreement with someone, because they believe that good Christians do not act that way. We should only convey peace, love and harmony to those around us, and that joy is the only sign of authentic holiness.
Love, peace and joy is what we all seek. But, superficial feelings of love, peace and joy are not a sign of authentic holiness, if we overlook sin and evil in order to keep the peace. Jesus himself did not continually seek peace with everyone, in every situation in his life, as today’s gospel demonstrates. He also did not convey compassion, forgiveness, peace, harmony and joy to all those around him at every moment of his life either. In fact, Jesus told us in the last verse of the Beatitudes:
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” ~ Luke 6:26
There were people that disliked Jesus Christ and that was perfectly ok with him. He never cared what other people’s personal opinion of him was. Jesus came into the world to teach people how to genuinely love one another, be of service to others, and live a life pleasing to God.
Jesus came into the world for the forgiveness of those times when we failed to do this, but he also came to clearly expose the wounds of sin too, so they could be cleansed and healed. People never change if everyone accepts their sins. Confrontation is unpleasant, but it can lead to conversion, forgiveness, and healing.
Today is the Memorial of Saint Monica and the readings we have for mass today reflect so much of her life. Like the scriptures in first reading today, Saint Monica worked hard to take care of her husband and children and loved them deeply. She was a good wife and mother, even if her husband was abusive and a womanizer. Everyone knows that Saint Augustine led a pretty wild life before his conversion, and even fathered a child out of wedlock. No one would have thought Monica was a saint at the time her husband and son was acting up though. We need to remember this, not to ‘judge a book by its cover’ because people are not what they seem to be, by the external circumstances of their lives at any given moment in time. Jesus said as much in today’s gospel, when he chastised the Pharisees:
“… on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evil doing.”
The opposite is also true though. There are many hidden saints disguised inside the most ordinary of people.
Saint Monica never lost sight of the truth of God’s word though, that genuine love doesn’t accept evil or wrong doing, but works for the conversion of the sinner. Jesus also openly confronted the things the Pharisees and scribes were doing that were wrong too, in today’s gospel.
The food for thought today might be to think about any area of our lives, or in the relationships that we have with others, that we are a little too tolerant of things that are morally wrong.
Daily Mass Readings:
Thessalonians 3: 6-10, 16-18 / Psalm 128 / Matthew 23: 27-32
