Nearby there is a Catholic church that has daily Mass at eight each morning. Across the street is a fitness center. There is a handful of cars in the church parking lot, and the fitness center’s lot is packed with cars. What is more important to people, physical appearance or spiritual health?
Agnes spends about two hours each day tending to her flower garden, and squeezes in about fifteen minutes for prayer. Her flower garden will last for a summer, her soul will last forever. Why is she more concerned about the condition of her garden than the state of her soul?
Jesus raised this same issue in talking to some Pharisees (Luke 11:37-41).
“After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.”
Pharisees were experts in regulating their behavior to impress people. They were great at creating good impressions. In turn, they expected Jesus to live up to these same standards. When Jesus bypassed the ritual washing, the Pharisee was not only surprised, but he was “amazed!”
Noting the Pharisee’s reaction, Jesus said:
“Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?”
They took great care to keep their hands clean, but it did not bother them to have dirty souls. Despite all the cleansings, their bodies would decay in a few short years and yet their souls would live forever. Why were the Pharisees not amazed at how horrible they looked on the inside. Jesus, on the other hand, saw the inside of people. What he saw in the Pharisees repelled him; they had clean hands and filthy hearts. He said their insides were filled with plunder and evil. They were enslaved by greed.
What could the Pharisees do to wash their insides? What did repentance look like for them?
“But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
The remedy for greed is almsgiving. Instead of trying to gather more money for their pockets, the Pharisees needed to start giving their money away. Instead of feeding off the poor, they were to start taking care of them. Just as water cleans the hands of dirt, so almsgiving cleans the soul of greed.
What about us? Are we more concerned about what we look like on the outside or how Jesus sees us on the inside? Are we more concerned about keeping up appearances to impress people or acting in a way that impresses and pleases God? What comes first, physical fitness, garden fitness, or spiritual fitness?
The Pharisees were locked into the sin of greed. What about us? Which capital sin has hold of us: pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy or sloth? Dealing with sin is a basic step toward reaching spiritual fitness.
We pray, “Come Holy Spirit, reveal to me the state of my soul, and give me the grace of true repentance. Help me be more concerned about what I look like on the inside than my outer appearance.”
