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"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.' Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.' Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells on it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."
- Matthew 23:13-26
Yesterday, we read that Jesus spoke to the multitudes and said to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi. But you, do not be called 'Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." My study bible says, "Because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding Him as well. Thus, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1)."
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.' Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.' Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells on it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it." Here is in fact an example of choosing between God and mammon. Which has the higher value here? Why do they not understand that it is God alone who gives the value to everything? Things boil down to the choice of loving God first. This is the true bedrock of faith, including how we choose to relate to others, and all things in the world.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also." My study bible says that these warnings here (and there will be more in tomorrow's reading) are especially important to Orthodox Christians (I am quoting from the Orthodox Study Bible). This is because this church has maintained the ancient practices of tithing (These you ought to have done, v. 23); sacred vessels (v. 25); holy rites (v. 27); and following the tradition handed down by fathers of the church. It notes regarding verse 24 that the Pharisees would attach strainers to the mouths of decanters in order to avoid accidentally consuming a ritually unclean substance. Practices of holy tradition, handed down from the ancient early church, can be expressions of deep faith, lead a person to deeper commitment to God, and safeguard our life in Christ -- or, they can be observed without ever taking them to heart and lead to condemnation. Of course, in my opinion, this teaching extends to any type of worship practice, any tradition, anything we do as practice: they are either tools to help us to love God, or become acts done to wear a mask and be satisfied with that.
It all seems to boil down to these choices, in Christ's framework: we either start by loving God, and have that as the bedrock of value for all other things in life, or we miss the mark, we lose our way in the fog of all the things -- even beautiful and good things of life -- that may get in the way of the heart and the love we experience in Christ, in God. It's this real bedrock of love that gives us the understanding of the love we share with others, as the second greatest commandment teaches. Jesus teaches that these are inseparable, that they sum up all the Law and the Prophets, and that together they are the greatest commandments. But it is the love of God that comes first, in order to teach us the true value of all things. We are in relationship to a God that is love, and truth, and beauty, and goodness. In this light we see the purpose of Creation, and we can extend and understand love better than from a worldly perception might have taught us. Let us remember, Jesus taught that it was Him who sits on the throne of heaven, the altar, and who dwells in the temple, that gives everything value, even the gold in the temple. Whatever we do in praise and worship, it must lead us to this place where we learn love through the experience of God's love. In 1 John 4:19, St. John writes, "We love God because He first loved us." Let us remember that this is so that we live by that love in the world. These are what Jesus refers to as the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.
