Whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops

 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.  But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

- Luke 11:53-12:12

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.  But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of the all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."

And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.  In yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus strongly criticized the lifestyles of the scribes, Pharisees, and lawyers.  He called them hypocrites and proclaimed there would  be "woe to them" for their failure to uphold their positions as religious leaders of the people.  They were not merciful, and in fact hindered others from finding the wisdom of God.  This criticism has turned their feelings against Him, and they now plot to find accusations with which to charge Him.

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops."  Here is the great enemy, so to speak:  hypocrisy.  It was this with which He condemned the practices of the scribes, Pharisees, and lawyers.  Hypocrite, as discussed in yesterday's reading, is a word that meant "actor" in the Greek.  In the ancient plays, actors wore masks to denote their character.  The word literally means "under a mask."  Jesus proclaims here the work of God; it is the antithesis of hypocrisy.  Everything spoken in the dark will be heard in the light; what is spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.   We are to live our lives with this understanding.

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."  This is  again a statement about what is known.  It is a radical awakening against hypocrisy.  The disciples are always to be aware of the vision of God, that nothing is lost to the sight of God.  Therefore what we fear is not the death of the body, but rather the One who watches our soul (see Proverbs 9:10).  My study bible says that the body will die eventually, one way or another.  St. Ambrose states that the death of the body is not itself a punishment -- instead, it is the end of earthly punishments.  But the soul continues for all eternity.  Since God is the judge of the soul, what we strive for even in the world is to please God alone. 

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.  But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."  Here is another exhortation against hypocrisy, a teaching on how His disciples must live.  My study bible says that to say a word against the Son of Man is to reject Jesus as the Messiah.  Before their conversion, Jesus seemed to be a mere man to many people.  The scandal caused by the Incarnation and Crucifixion of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:23) means that this sin is more easily forgiven.  But the Holy Spirit is without bodily form and works invisibly for divine goodness in the world.  Many Church Fathers, including St. John Chrysostom, say that even blasphemy against the Spirit would be forgivable if one repents; and Jesus never pronounces it "unforgivable."  But the truth Jesus teaches here is that those who knowingly blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure goodness "evil."  Therefore they are unrepentant by choice.  But there is more important teaching here, and it is about Judgment.  To do and speak the words given by the Holy Spirit is to bring a kind of truth into the world that is true testimony.  It then falls to every person who hears how they will respond.  Judgment is of course up to God, and depends on all kinds of things including repentance, as my study bible points out. 

So what does it mean to avoid hypocrisy?  What is it that Jesus is teaching that may be whispered in the ear in the dark and is proclaimed on the housetops?  I think there is a deep connection here to mystical truth and to the work of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus calls His followers to an entirely different awareness than that of the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers.  His faith is not about only conforming to outward expectations and appearances, but that which must shore up the love of God in the heart.  This is not a passive love that declares itself loyal and is satisfied with confession or declaration.  This is an active love, one that translates into all wakeful activity, focused in prayer, and in the desire to please God.  An active love is one that is always present and always renewed, one that considers each action within the context of living prayer and communion.  What does that mean exactly?  Jesus places it in the context of something very active indeed:  testimony.  One cannot imagine a more "quickened" moment of life than being brought up before the the synagogues and magistrates and authorities.  But in His words, it is then they are not to worry, but rather trust in the Holy Spirit who will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.  This is an active love.  It's like a spouse whose ongoing thought and effort is about making a happy home, a good marriage.  So we are to think about pleasing and being in communion (and communication) with God.  We can't always know the thoughts of God, and we can't always be certain we understand where God is leading us.  But we can focus on our intentions and our love.  We can dwell in a state of active prayer and inner focus.  We can live our love the way love is lived in one who cares every moment for a beloved one.  This is what it means not to live as a hypocrite, to say from the housetops what is said in the ear in an inner room, to be true to a heart that is true.  Just like a marriage and a family, we don't know what is perfect -- and none of us is Judge.  But we can work at what He teaches, and most of all, we can trust as He teaches.