Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

 

 "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 the beginning of Jesus' final sermon, which He spoke in the temple in Jerusalem.  This event takes place during what we know as Holy Week, the final week of Jesus' earthly life.   Jesus spoke to the multitudes and 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.  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 Jesus begins an eight-fold indictment of the scribes and Pharisees.  My study Bible comments that He charges them with inverting God's values and with being mean-spirited, judgmental, greedy, ambitious, absorbed in externals, and blindly self-righteous.  It says that while these charges were directed against the Jewish leaders of the day, every word applies equally to those in the Church who behave in this way.  Moreover, it adds that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can actually hinder others from finding God as well.  Therefore leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).  Let us note the emphasis on material wealth over the power of the presence of God -- the value of the gold or gift on the altar over the value of that which sanctifies, the presence of God.

 

 "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."  My study Bible (which is the Orthodox Study Bible) comments that the warnings given here (and in the continuation we will find in tomorrow's reading) are especially important to Orthodox Christians.   This is true because the Church has maintained the ancient practices of tithing ("These you ought to have done"); sacred vessels; holy rites; and following the tradition handed down through the patristic period.  Therefore, we note, this is true for not just the Orthodox but many denominations.  These practices, my study Bible comments, 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.  Let us also note the emphasis here once again on the appearance of sanctity over the state of the internal life, and also the lack of value on the "weightier matters of the law" which Jesus names as justice and mercy and faith.  Keep in mind that at that time, money was measured in weight value of precious metal, so Jesus' analogy is to the true weight of the law of God over material values prized by these leaders.

 

"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."   The Pharisees would attach strainers to the mouths of decanters in order to avoid accidentally consuming a ritually unclean substance; hence "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"  Note again the emphasis on the appearance of being cleansed, while inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.

 

Jesus' examples compare values, how people measure things.  They are specific examples of how the religious leaders -- despite their efforts at an outward show to the contrary -- value material wealth more than they value the true measure of all things:  God and God's sanctifying power.  He begins with the scribes, whom He says, "devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers."  The law of God, in which they are supposed to be experts who teach others, specifically makes provisions for the care of widows and orphans, but Jesus emphasizes their hungrily greedy efforts for material wealth.  He points out the great effort they make to "travel land and sea to win one proselyte," but "when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."  In other words, their example only sets forth the opposite of the intent of God's law given to Moses, and so instead of bringing people closer to God the next generation of religious leaders are worse in their continuation down this path.  Jesus then uses the example of swearing by the gold or the gift on the altar over the altar itself -- evidence of a failure to value that which sits on the altar which actually sanctifies the gift or the gold:  God and all the things of God, God's throne and heaven also.  What is missing from the picture is holiness itself, a valuing of that action and power of sanctification, a blindness to the true substance and reality and action of God.  And, in every generation, as my study Bible emphasizes, we are subject to the same blindness, the same lack of consciousness of the power and holiness of God working in our lives and sanctifying what we do and who we are in the world.  Jesus then goes on to their outward practices of fastidiousness, straining out liquid to avoid a tiny animal that is ritually unclean (a gnat), and the ritually cleansed cup and dish for eating, but they are still those who devour widows' houses, and are full of extortion and self-indulgence."   To first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish is entirely consistent with Jesus' (and also John the Baptist's) of the good tree that bears good fruit, of the branches that need to be pruned in order to keep the tree good and bearing the good fruit (see Matthew 3:10, 7:17-19, 12:33).  We can also understand this as compatible to Christ's analogy of "amputation" of that which would cause sin, especially against the "little ones" in their flocks to the disciples, as they quarreled over who would be greatest in Christ's Kingdom (see Matthew 18:1-9).  Jesus also gives this same analogy to all disciples -- and therefore to all believers -- in the Sermon on the Mount when He speaks about adultery with the image of an eye that gazes with covetousness, a hand that reaches out to trespass where it does not belong (Matthew 5:29-30).  In all ways, Jesus' emphasis on the state of the soul which must first inform outward action still applies to us.  It is still true that we must cleanse the inside to make clean the outside, to make the tree good so that its fruit will be good.  The emphasis on outward appearance leads so easily to hypocrisy, to forgetting that the "first and greatest commandment" Jesus gives is "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (see Saturday's reading).   It is this commandment that informs the rest, that teaches us how to love our neighbor as ourselves.  It is in this depth of internal relationship to God that we find how to love, and the rootedness we need to bear good fruit in our outward actions.  The great deal of emphasis placed on outward action through our social media today makes this all the more difficult, placing so much emphasis on appearance over an inner substance, and a depth of love within us as commitment.  For that is how the practice of compassion eludes us.  It is all too easy to judge according to appearance and not with righteous judgment (John 7:34).  Let us do our part by cultivating the "weightier matters" of righteousness Jesus teaches, and avoid the hypocrisy He condemns that is blind to the things of God.

 

 

But all their works they do to be seen by men

 

 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and 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."

 

- Matthew 23:1-12 

 

In our present readings, the events take place during the final week of Jesus' earthly life, which we commemorate as Holy Week.  On Saturday we read that, as Jesus was being questioned in the temple in Jerusalem, the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."   And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." 

 

 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and 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."  This chapter consists of Jesus' final public sermon.  It is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees, and today we're given its beginning.  My study Bible notes several themes to the chapter and the entire sermon.  First, as He begins to teach here, the Jewish leaders have God-given authority and teach God's Law, but they are personally cold-hearted.  Their teaching is to be honored but they are not to be imitated.  To sit in Moses' seat means to hold the succession of office down from Moses himself.  In the synagogue, my study Bible explains, the teacher spoke while seated as a sign of this authority.  St. John Chrysostom notes that the scribes were depraved in thought and in heart, but Jesus still upholds the dignity of their office nonetheless, for they speak not their own words but those of God.  Likewise within the Church, my study Bible says, the clergy are to be shown respect because they hold the apostolic office, although they also are sinners.  Moreover, the sins of the clergy do not relieve the people from their responsibilities before God.  

"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.' "  Phylacteries, my study Bible explains, are small leather pouches containing passages of Scripture which are worn on the arm or forehead.  The idea was to keep God's Law always in mind (see Exodus 13:9).  But the Pharisees used them as a show of false piety, making them increasingly larger and more noticeable; hence Christ's words of criticism referring to their hypocrisy and the show of image that goes with it "to be seen by men."

"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."  My study Bible notes that Christ's warning against calling hypocrites father and teacher is not an absolute prohibition against using these terms, as some teach.  These terms are applied to figures in the Church many times in New Testament, all of which usages are inspired by God.  "Teacher" is used in John 3:10; Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; and 2 Timothy 1:11.  "Father" is used in Luke 16:24; 1 Corinthians 4:15; and Colossians 3:21.   Since the very early days of the Church, my study Bible explains, bishops and presbyters have been called "father" not because they take the place of God, but because in their parental care for their flocks, they lead people to God, and they exercise such authority within the community.  

We should note that between Saturday's reading (see above) and today's there is a passage that was given by the lectionary in May (see this reading).  In that passage, significantly, Jesus poses a question to the Pharisees regarding Psalm 110, and its words attributed to King David, "The LORD said to my Lord . . ."  Who would David, a king, call "my Lord," when he has already referred to the LORD?  The conclusion is that this Lord is the Son of God, and not the Son of David who would not refer to his own son as "my Lord."  It is an important passage for us to note here, as it established through His own words the source of Jesus' authority, precisely the question being debated in the temple, and the reason why the religious leaders quiz Him.  By what authority is He teaching and did He cleanse the temple?  Here in today's reading, Jesus takes this a step further with this beginning of this grand critique of the religious leadership, its corruption, and its hypocrisy.  We should understand, then, with what sort of authority He speaks.  Of course we should hasten to add that all the criticism Jesus levels at the religious leadership of His time and in the temple is also a warning to His Church, and for all time.  Take note, therefore, that the same problems that He attacks here in His criticism can also happen in the Church:  corruption and hypocrisy of many kinds.  Of primary importance is that Jesus places a great deal of emphasis on their lack of compassion for their flock.  His very first criticism is this:  "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."    Jesus speaks of their inhabiting of "Moses' seat" just as in the Church we have those who fill the role of the leaders of the early Church, those who were the direct disciples of Christ.  Compassion, we should be reminded, becomes the standard Jesus sets out in Judgment, as when He will give the great teaching on His Judgment, using sheep and goats as images (Matthew 25:31-46).  His "new commandment" that He will add to the rest and give to His disciples for our Church is that we "love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34).  We should note that in the ways that Christ phrases His criticisms, this lack of compassion somehow goes hand in hand with hypocrisy -- and specifically a focus on the external image we project to others.  These are coupled with one another.  Therefore the historical Christian perspective has been a focus at once on humility and also on the internal state of the soul, who we are when we stand before God and everything else is stripped away.   

 

 

 

 

 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "

- Matthew 23:27-39

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His final sermon, a great discourse against the hypocrisy and excesses of the scribes and Pharisees:  "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."

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Jesus' words reflect the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (in this reading), which Jesus had told to the chief priests and elders, in which each servant sent by the vineyard owner represented a prophet sent to call the people back to God.  Here in today's passage, Jesus more clearly states that these leaders of His time are the children of their fathers, so to speak, as they will kill Him, the Son, and assuredly would have been among those who murdered the prophets.  Their own guilt becomes, in effect, a manifestation of Jesus' words of condemnation in yesterday's reading, in which He said to them, "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."  It is these men upon whom the added guilt of their "fathers" will fall, as they are the same as those who murdered the prophets; in effect, a "brood of vipers."  This is the third time that term has appeared in Matthew's Gospel; the first time it was used by John the Baptist, and the second time by Jesus (3:7, 12:34).

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "   My study bible comments that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of God's people, but most do not want God.  The desolate house is a reference both directly to the temple but also to the nation itself.  House can be used to mean "family" or "tribe" (see Psalms 115:12, 135:19).  My study bible comments that once Christ departs, both the temple and the nation will be without God's presence.

I don't think we can overestimate the impact of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in terms of the meaning for the whole of Jewish spiritual history.  Jesus places this event, which will happen some forty years after His prophesy of its destruction, firmly within a timeline of choices by the religious leadership to reject God's repeated call in their practices.  Most particularly, it is the rejection of the prophets, including John the Baptist, and the deliberate putting to death of Jesus, that precipitates this horrific event which will take place at the time of the devastation to Jerusalem.  In some sense, the choice that will be offered to the people between the nationalist insurrectionist Barabbas and Jesus Himself will be both a symbolic and actual wrong choice in terms of spiritual truths and God's call to the people.  It will be a figurative choice between a doctrine of a messiah who will return the material fortunes of Israel as great earthly kingdom or Christ whose kingdom is at once "not of this world" and also "within" us and among us (John 18:36, Luke 17:21).  Repeatedly in recent readings (and especially in this final sermon), Jesus has spoken of the depth of commitment to God as something which concerns the heart and soul and mind (as in the first "greatest commandment").  Jesus has quoted from the prophesy of Isaiah suggesting that even as they draw near to God with words, their hearts are far away (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:7–9).  The repeated powerful emphasis has been on the love of God and its presence within heart and mind and soul over and against a materialist mindset that values the "praise of men" more than the "praise of God" (John 12:43).   The seeking of a messiah for whom the glories of the kingdom of Israel would be paramount, such as becoming once again a conquering worldly kingdom as in the time of David, becomes the lynch pin, so to speak.  It is the stumbling block that prevents the response of the heart to God's call.  Jesus will be condemned by these leaders because He calls Himself the Son of God, but truly we must look at the patterns evidenced by repeated choices to understand the deeper roots of conflict.  We must wonder whether or not an all-powerful conquering Jesus, with an army that would throw off the Romans and establish great wealth for the kingdom of Israel would not, in fact, have been welcomed by both the leaders and the people.  In such a case, He may even have been acknowledged as messiah who was both God and man.  But Jesus, like the prophets before Him including John the Baptist, comes as one with "nowhere to lay His head" (8:20).   He does not command an army, He has not amassed weapons, and His focus is not on a political solution for Israel of overthrowing the Romans.  His focus is, instead, on a purely spiritual call, and a naming of the problems of Israel on spiritual terms:  that "these people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me," and that "in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."  In today's world, we are experiencing a lot of social upheaval.  Perhaps depending upon which country (or countries) in which one lives, such upheaval affects us on one level and another.  But Jesus offers us a third way, so to speak, in complete contrast to the political solutions which present themselves for today's problems, which we may view as the "commandments of men," in some sense.  For one thing is clear, if we are truly to follow Jesus, and to consider His message for today.  We cannot leave our faith out of our solutions to current problems.  We can't leave God out of solutions to permanent and long-lasting problems that come into the realm of this world of human beings.  Ultimately, goodness and truth and beauty are not mere abstractions or philosophical ideals.  Our solution to all ills has to be a spiritual one to begin with, for it is in the love of God -- the Source of all goodness, truth, and beauty -- where we will find our true peace and joy.   This isn't just a formula for yet another political solution to current events and current problems.  Rather, we have to return to Jesus' true message of hearts that are drawn close to God, and which do not just give lip service to faith or to worship.  We have to come to understand His message in the context of our own times:  where are we drawn that will provide us with real answers to our problems?  How do we seek first His kingdom so that all things are added unto us?  How do we avoid being also a "brood of vipers" like those who may draw near to God with their lips but who would censor and condemn the prophets of our own time?  We have powerful structures and interests at work in the world, and those which are also corrupt.  Of that we can be sure, that nothing much has changed since Christ's time.  But let us consider His lament over Jerusalem, and His warnings to the religious leaders, and think not that we will find respite in easy rhetoric and virtue-signaling, which seem to be so popular and de rigeur.  Jesus does not ask for empty talk of guilt, but rather for faith -- and that is a much tougher and more courageous call.  It is the call of the Cross.

Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also

"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 began what is understood to be Jesus' final sermon, given in the temple at Jerusalem.   He spoke to the multitudes and 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 comments that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding God as well.  Thus, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).   The sayings here are similar to the condemnations Jesus gave when He called these leaders "blind leaders of the blind" (15:14).   But let us note the progression from bad to worse; these hypocrites make their proselytes twice as much a son of hell as themselves. 

"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."  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus forbade his followers from swearing oaths at all (5:33-37).  In this case, following up on His accusation that these blind guides "devour widows' houses," He shows also their focus on the accumulation of wealth rather than the more important reality of the presence of God. 

"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 calls these warnings (and those which will follow in the next readings) especially important to Orthodox Christians, as the Church has maintained these ancient practices of tithing and sacred vessels, as well as holy rites which Christ will mention in our next reading.  As the Church continues to follow the tradition that comes from the ancient Church, these practices can be expressions of deep faith, leading to a deeper commitment to God and safeguarding our life in Christ -- or they can be observed without ever taking them to heart, and lead to condemnation.  Strain out a gnat and swallow a camel:  my study bible explains that the Pharisees would attach strainers to the mouths of decanters to avoid accidentally consuming a ritually unclean substance. 

Clearly in these last verses, Jesus combines the images of ritual practice with the need for internalizing that practice so that it is meaningful and truly spiritually effective.   To pay tithes is one thing, but the weightier matters are actually the intangibles and internal practices from the heart of justice and mercy and faith.   To cleanse the outside of the cup and dish are ritual practices regarding what is considered clean, but to cleanse the inside of the cup and dish so that the outside may be clean also is a metaphor for how we live our lives and, more specifically, the practice of repentance and safeguarding the heart.  Everything that Christ says and preaches reminds us of the need to practice what He names as the greatest commandment:  to love God with all one's heart and soul and mind.  Therefore, to swear an oath by the treasure of the temple is to lack the awareness of the presence of God which sanctifies all; to clean the outside of the cup or to tithe spices are meaningless without the internal counterpart of faith, of the love of God.  It is this depth of awareness and faith -- and the love of God -- which is missing in their practices, a growth of corruption through time which Jesus is criticizing in His final sermon, here in the temple in Jerusalem.  Clearly my study bible indicates the dangers of such practices in forgetting God remain with us.  We may do just the same as the ones He criticizes, even as we attend services or engage in practices designed to shore up faith, but without the internal commitment of the heart and soul.  Jesus criticizes the purely external focus, the one that needs the "praise of men" more than the "praise of God" (John 12:43).  As we return to the theme of social media so frequently on this blog, let us consider how easily image shaped in the eyes of others can be used to distort and hide from a true image of ourselves -- and especially in the context of today's reading and Jesus' words to the hypocrites of His own time.  Just as He criticizes their love of public honors, and do things in order to be "seen by men" (23:5, in yesterday's reading, above), so our lives today can so easily focus around social media and the image that we create for others to see.  If our images in the eyes of others become more important than the image that God will give us, then our communication is flawed, over-emphasizing the material over the spiritual, and the communication from the heart with God.  Including heart and mind and soul means we lead a balanced and grounded life.  Life becomes an organic process in which we live a fullness of growth that proceeds naturally out of and through all that we do.  By a constant practice of prayer and being mindful of God we sort through our life with grounding in the knowledge that life is meant to unfold as a place of growth:   a constant discovery of where we need to change, what we need to emphasize, and new things we need to learn.  This is how we are meant to be, and all else is secondary to that.  It is so easy to lose ourselves in a false image.  Let us learn to guard ourselves so that we are always true.





 

How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Christ Pantocrator/Teacher, Byzantine, 13-14th century, Vatopedi Monastery, Mt. Athos, Greece

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "

- Matthew 23:27-39

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His final sermon, given in the temple at Jerusalem:   "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 in 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."

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."  Jesus continues His criticisms of the religious leadership, based on their hypocrisy.  Here He describes the emphasis on outward appearance of cleanliness (as He has already attacked their practice of ritual purity which covers up a lack of concern about true internal righteousness).  This is the starkest and strongest image possible, the image of death within.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Here Jesus speaks of the treatment of the prophets who have come before Him, and links the persecution of the prophets of old with the leadership of His own time.  In the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (told in this reading from December 5th), Jesus illustrated the prophets having been repeatedly sent to Israel, to call people back to God.  But here, this condemnation of all that has gone before, sweeping up the current leadership in the guilt of those who have committed these crimes of the past, Jesus emphasizes their lack of leadership and care of the common people, their charges whom these leaders are supposed to guide toward God.  We and the crowd that listens to Jesus preach here surely have the recent memory of John the Baptist in mind.  (Indeed, Christ has asked these leaders in the same week about the baptism of John and its holiness, in this reading.)   In fact, my study bible points out that some patristic commentators suggest that Zechariah (mentioned here by Christ) was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22), but others teach that Jesus here is referring to the father of John the Baptist, who, according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "  My study bible says that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of God's people, but most do not want Him.  The desolate house, it says, refers both to the temple and to the nation itself, as house can be used to mean "family" or "tribe" (see Psalms 115:12, 135:19).  My study bible adds that once Christ departs, both the temple and the nation will be without God's presence.  Finally, let us note this feminine image which Jesus presents us of Himself, as a hen who gathers her chicks and wishes only to protect them with love.

Jesus ties in the hypocrisy and bad practices of the religious leaders with the desolation and coming destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.  In the following chapter, He will go further into this prophecy of what is to come.  But it is clear from this final sermon of Jesus that He knows full well what is to come regarding His Passion and the Cross, and also what will become of Jerusalem and the temple once He has been crucified.  It is a time of the deepest possible transition, the deepest possible effects of their choices.  So much so, that Jesus ties in all the evil that has gone before in terms of the persecution of the prophets with what these leaders are about to do, and what will be the result.  Let us remember that in our past two readings Jesus has scathingly criticized the leadership, based on their hypocrisy which, most importantly, hinders the spiritual progress of their flock toward God.  Jesus has repeatedly said that this is the most important job of a pastor or religious leader.  In His own teachings to His disciples (to whom this final sermon is also addressed), He has repeatedly and emphatically spoken about humility and also the importance of self-knowledge, leading to personal correction in casting off the impulses and desires that may lead to abuses of those less powerful (illustrated in the image of cutting off hand or foot or eye "if it offends" in this passage).  But in today's reading, Jesus takes this all a step further, when He ties this abusive and neglectful behavior of the leadership with the whole of the spiritual history of Israel, culminating in the prophecy of what is to come in Jerusalem and to the temple (which will continue into the next chapter).  Significantly, Jesus' prophecies of what is to come -- and the tying in of repeatedly sending the prophets to Israel to call her back to God -- give us the sense in which our choices manifest in results in this world, even if we no longer are living to see them.  It is similar to the projection of a lifetime spent going in the wrong direction of one individual.  Here, a whole history of passed down errors and selfish personal indulgence -- rather than righteously upholding the teachings of God in personal conduct -- coupled with the refusal to hear the One who is sent, will have disastrous results.  Whether or not we want to see history this way, or even that our choices can manifest in such effects, we must see this text as tying in all of these things, in Jesus' words.  In other words, whatever we make out of what Jesus is saying here, there can be little, if any doubt that we are given the certainty that our own corrupt choices have effects in our lives and upon those around ourselves.  As we have seen from the texts as we read through the Gospels all along, when we are presented with spiritual truth (in whatever form, I would venture to say) we are not simply given a gift which we might easily refuse.  Spiritual truth, in whatever form it comes, is, finally, the gift of reality presented to us; paraphrasing the name of God given to Moses in the Old Testament (I AM WHO I AM - in Exodus 3:14), spiritual truth is what is.  Fighting against and rejecting that reality is, in a particular way, the same as rejecting the laws of physics.  If we fight against gravity, we don't expect that is not going to have its effects.  If we reject spiritual truth, we should not expect that this will create no effects in our lives.  It seems to me that it is certain, whether or not we realize or recognize it in our lifetimes, that rejection of spiritual truth works itself out in real effects -- often with a great lag of time, depending on the circumstance and the depth of rejection involved.  This may seem a bit mysterious, and indeed, it is.  It falls within the very definition of mystery, since "to those who are outside, all things come in parables" (Mark 4:11-12).  Indeed, this word for parables can also be used interchangeably with "riddles" or even "mysteries" -- hidden, secret things.  We are responsible for what we hear, and also for our lack of capacity to hear; at least somewhere deep within us, we have the faculties for such spiritual hearing and sight.  Whether or not we care to use them also seems to be a function of a depth of decision, part of the mysterious nature of faith and how it works within us.  We are offered grace, even in the admonitions of Christ, who, in this starkest and harshest of critical language, still tries to save and to warn.  Let us pay attention for our own conduct, our own faith, our own times, and their effects.   The icon above, from Vatopedi Monastery on Mt. Athos in Greece, is a depiction of Christ the Teacher, as He holds a scroll of His teachings.  Let us note that at the same time, He raises His hand in blessing, indicating that all is given through grace.  But He is also Christ Pantocrator, or Almighty, a reminder that His teachings are His word, the reality or Logos of God, and so they are always connected to His power of judgment and of eternal life.  They carry with them the weight of truth, and its fullness of effect in terms of our own response.  Let us remember that His teachings and warnings carry the same weight for us today as they do for those whom He addresses in the temple.  We are warned of the importance of our own righteousness and the internal life of the soul.  As the hen who would gather her chicks under her wings, everything Jesus says -- even criticisms and warnings -- are given from love for us.  May we be His willing children who do not reject that love.