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, is it 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.  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 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, is it 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.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it."  My study Bible comments here that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding Him as well.  So, therefore, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).  

 

"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."   These warnings begin the last part of this final public sermon of Jesus.  Nearly the whole of chapter 23 is taken with it.  My study Bible comments that the warnings which begin in this section (and will continue in tomorrow's reading) are especially important to Orthodox Christians.  It notes that the Church has maintained the ancient practices of tithing ("These you ought to have done"), sacred vessels "you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish", and holy rites following the tradition handed down from the ancient Church through today.  These practices can be expressions of deep faith, it notes, 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 ("hypocrites!").  My study Bible explains that to "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel" is a reference to a practice in which the Pharisees would attach strainers to the mouths of decanters in order to avoid accidentally consuming any ritually unclean substance.  

 

 There are a few things we might want to pay attention to in today's reading, for they reveal patterns which Jesus condemns on the part of these religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees.  First of all we should place this section of chapter 23 of St. Matthew' Gospel in context.  This full chapter is an exposition of Jesus' final public sermon, and so it is noteworthy to begin with 6:simply on that basis.  It is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees, and in particular their hypocrisy.  It's notable for us that between the different parties that made up the ruling Council of the Jews (all of them religious leaders, and centered in the Jerusalem temple), the ones whom Jesus criticizes were perhaps the ones closest to Him in spiritual outlook and opinions.  The Sadducees are left out of this particular critique; they are the ones of whom He said they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God (in this reading from Saturday).  It was a lawyer, in the second half of Saturday's reading, who approached Jesus with a question regarding the greatest commandments in the Law.  This lawyer was a Pharisee, and so we should keep this in mind.  For that Pharisee clearly understood Jesus' response to His question, and approved.  But the hypocritical practices Jesus condemns in today's reading show a clear violation of what Jesus called the first and greatest commandment ("You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind," which comes from Deuteronomy 6:5).  For these men in their hypocrisy pay lip service to piety, to devotion to God, but they don't practice it in what they do.  By their hypocrisy they take on pupils whom they mislead with their practices, and so "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."  As we reviewed in yesterday's reading and commentary, it's their job as stewards of the people and their spiritual tradition to lead them to God, but in their practices they do the opposite.  As teachers they fail to uphold their supposed purpose as religious leaders, rabbis.   Even worse, they prey on the weak and powerless, thus violating the second great commandment Jesus had given ("You shall love your neighbor as yourself" from Leviticus 19:18).  Jesus tells them, "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."   Such terrible teachers are they that they "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."  They not only fail to lead toward God, but lead toward the adversaries of God.  So blind are they to the things of God, they fail to understand that it is God who gives value to all things; therefore they can't see the sanctification of God, God's the power of holiness, and instead value the material that is useless without it.  Finally they miss God altogether in their pursuit of pious-appearing practices:  they tithe, but they have "neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith."  Without the love of God in their hearts, they have form but not substance.  They pay attention to the tiniest detail in appearing holy before others, but they swallow whole what is unclean in their faithlessness.  They take care to appear perfect to others in their external legalism, but "inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence."   In St. Matthew's 15th chapter, Jesus speaks of them by quoting from Isaiah:  "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me" (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13).  What we see in the outcome of their hypocrisy is the cruelty of their practices, the opposite of the intentions of the Law, antithetical to the purposes of God.  They become allied with evil, teaching their proselytes to become "twice as much a son of hell" as themselves.  Again, we turn back to Christ's teachings to the disciples about authority, power, and greatness, and the need for the consideration and protection of the "little ones" among them.  The widows whose houses are devoured are among such "little ones," the powerless and dependent, and so are the proselytes who seek instruction of matters of God.  As always, we consider what these examples mean for us, for, as my study Bible points out, there is no one who needs to take consideration of these warnings and criticism more than we who value and cherish the traditions we inherit, the faith we follow -- for we might find ourselves also at the receiving end of this criticisms should we engage in such hypocrisy ourselves.  A pure focus on externals might find us, rather than fully practicing our faith, in the same place of condemnation as these men whom Jesus faces.  When confronted with the truth -- and He is the person who is the Truth standing in front of them (John 14:6) -- they respond only by seeking to destroy Him.  The weightier matters of the law, "justice and mercy and faith," fall by the wayside to the blindness of their ways.  Jesus teaches, effectively, that there are two ways.  One is toward God, and the other is away.  We cannot do both, and neither are we capable of standing still or being neutral.  Indeed, this would be the teaching of the early Church, such as is found in the Didache, and was already well-known in Judaism.  So let us place first things first, lest we also become blind to where we are leading, and take others astray with us as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 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 cumin, 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 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 of 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 teacher; 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 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."  My study Bible comments on this passage 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.  So, therefore, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).

 

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, 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 comments that the warnings in this passage (and several verses that will follow in tomorrow's reading) are especially important to Orthodox Christians. Certainly they apply to many other Christian denominations as well.  It notes that the Church has maintained the ancient practice of tithing ("these you ought to have done"); sacred vessels ("you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish"); holy rites; and following the tradition handed down from fathers of the Church.  These practices, it says, 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.  Regarding "strain out of gnat and swallow a camel," my study Bible explains that the Pharisees would attach strainers to the mouths of decanters in order to avoid accidentally consuming a ritually unclean substance.  

 

The scrupulosity of the Pharisees is well-illustrated in Christ's scathing criticism that they "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel."   It shows for us a clear emphasis on the details of observed piety, while the inner life and the fruits of the love of God are neglected.  In another memorable phrasing, Jesus says, "For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith."  As my study Bible comments, we always run the risk of placing all our emphasis on externals and forget the power of faith, that inner life of the love of God.  Once again, we return to our reading from Tuesday, in which Jesus, in response to the Pharisees' questioning, set out the first two great commandments, upon which "hang all the Law and the Prophets."  The first commanded a total love of God, with all the heart, and soul, and mind.  The second was like it, to love neighbor as oneself.  The second flows from the first.  With their emphasis on external piety and position, on their appearance and place and rank with others, they have forgotten to first "cleanse the inside of the cup" so that the outside may be clean also.  This is once again a reference to the inner life, and the pure hearts Jesus asks us to work for, as our first work of faith (Matthew 5:8).  That is, heart and soul and mind dedicated to love of God.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly emphasizes the inner life, and our care for it, so that the love of God can produce its fruits and grow in us throughout our lives.  But a hypocritical focus on externals is what He condemns here in the practice of the Pharisees.  As my study Bible points out, all of these things and the traditions of the Church are meant as expressions of our faith, working to help us to shore up that faith within us, and to practice our faith and make it strong, to help us to express that love of God.  But it is a hypocritical focus only on the externals that is the source of the problem here, that is emphasized in Jesus' pronouncement of "woe" to these leaders.  Jesus calls them "blind guides" for they can't see what's in front of their eyes, nor can they sense what they lack in terms of their own faith and the fruits of the love of God.  Again, as my study Bible says, these warnings are not just for Christ's particular place and time, but they are always words in effect for all of us, so that we focus on our lives and the practice of our faith.  In modern times, our lives are seemingly governed by image and images, which are fantastically expanded and distorted through social media.  We need more than ever an understanding of what it is to cultivate a purity in heart and an internal, wholistic love of God which bears fruit in the growth of the soul and in love -- and not simply a reliance on slogans, movements, fashion, or to be seen by others.  As the celebration of Christ's Nativity approaches, let's remember where all the meaning comes from, and focus on cleansing the inside of the cup as He asks.    

 

 

 

 

Bear fruits worthy of repentance

 

 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled

And every mountain and hill brought low; 

The crooked places shall be made straight

 And the rough ways smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." 

 

- Luke 3:1-14 

 

Our most recent lectionary posts followed what is known as Christ's Farewell Discourse, spoken to the apostles at the Last Supper.  Jesus' final words in that discourse (just prior to His High Priestly Prayer) were, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."  Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?"  They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'?  We do not know what he is saying."  Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?  Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.  A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  And in that day you will ask Me nothing.  Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and I have believed that I came forth from God.  I came forth from the Father and have come into the world.  Again, I leave the world and go to the Father."  His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!  Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You.  By this we believe that You came forth from God."  Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

 

  Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene . . .    My study Bible tells us that Herod ruled Judea from 37-4 BC.  He was also called "Herod the Builder" for his many building projects, the most famous and impressive of which was the expansion and refurbishing of the Second Temple, so that it became known in its time as one of the seven wonders of the world.  My study Bible comments that Luke mentions Herod to pinpoint the historical date of the birth of Jesus Christ.  It adds that an ancient prophecy of Jacob indicated the Messiah would come when a king ruled who was not from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).  Herod was a non-Jew who called himself the king of Judea, and so expectations were that the coming of Christ was surely at hand.

 

 . . . while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  Regarding the high priests, my study Bible notes that Caiaphas was now the sole high priest, but people also recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law Annas, a previous high priest who had been deposed by the Romans.  John the son of Zacharias is St. John the Baptist.

 

 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . .   My study Bible comments here that the call to repentance was traditional for prophets.  John's baptism, it says, did not grant remission of sins once and for all.  But it prefigured and prepared people for the baptism of Christ which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).  John is a figure of the Law in that, like the Law, he denounced sin but could not remit (or literally "put away") sin.  Both John and the Law, my study Bible tells us, point to the One who can remit sin.  

. . . as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"   John quotes from Isaiah 40:3-5, ascribing to himself this role of the voice of one crying in the wilderness.  

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to  flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that god is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."   My study Bible comments on this passage that, while parents and ancestors help impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself does not make one worthy of God.  Each person in every generation must do as John says; that is, bear fruits worthy of repentance.   These stones are symbolic of the Gentiles who would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18). 

What does it mean to become children of Abraham?  This is a question central to the Gospels and to the Christian faith.  For we, as Christians, are also called children of Abraham (as St. Paul writes in Romans 4).  There, St. Paul makes it clear that those who are children of Abraham are those who are "like Abraham."  That is, like Abraham, they are those whose righteousness is justified by faith.  For, if we consider that Abraham himself lived before the Law was given to Moses, he could not be justified by the Law.  Instead, Genesis 15:6 tells us of Abraham that "he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness."  This is what it is to be "justified by faith."  But in pursuing this understanding, we also have to consider just what faith is.  Is it just a set of principles we state that we believe are true?  According to the whole of the Bible, this is not what faith is, for faith can't be separated from living that faith, actually doing the things our faith (or "trust" in God) calls us to do.  It's the same as proclaiming our love for someone or something.  If this love does not prompt us to live its values and meaning, if we neglect our pledge of love, then what is love?  Declarations do not make love, "belief" does not make love.  Love is what we do, and faith is also what we do, what we live.  This principle is exemplified in John the Baptist's teaching to those whom he calls to repentance in today's reading.  What it is to "bear fruits worthy of repentance" is shown in John's answers to the people who ask, "What should we do?"  To the people, he instructs they must share charitably with those who are without, to the tax collectors he teaches not to engage in the common practice of extortion, but to collect only what is appointed.  The soldiers he instructs to make no false accusation or intimidation (and thereby take a bribe), "and be content with your wages."   These are all actions, works, fruits; even to refrain from doing something evil is an action.  To have faith is not simply a mental exercise.  For to have faith in God is to be obedient to God, to respond to God's call to us, which appears in some way in every conscience, "written in the heart" as St. Paul says in Romans 2.  In St. John the Evangelist's First Epistle, he writes to his flock about judgment, and of the discernment of knowing Christ.  He makes this intriguing statement, speaking of Christ, "If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him" (1 John 2:29).  We come back over and over again to this question of righteousness, and John supplies us with this sense of choosing what (or Whom) we align with, the "energies" by which we live, that determine what we do, the life in which we participate.  But in his words, we "practice righteousness," just as the Baptist tells the people, the tax collectors, the soldiers.  So let it be also with us.  For we also today must "prepare the way of the Lord" -- if in our hearts, then in the way we live our lives, as did Abraham.

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 

 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

- Luke 18:9–14 

 

This week for those in the West (and also for the Armenian Apostolic Oriental Orthodox) is the beginning of Lent.  The readings of the lectionary correspond to our preparations for the forty days of Lent, traditionally and historically a set-apart time of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer as we move toward the celebration of Christ's Resurrection.  Yesterday we read that, after His night trial at the home of the high priest, Jesus was led from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king them?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.  But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover.  Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!"  Now Barabbas was a robber.  

 

  Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector."  Jesus tells this parable in Luke's Gospel as He is about to begin His journey toward Jerusalem for the final week of His earthly life.  My study Bible explains that the Pharisee is highly respected in the society, and a careful observer of the details of the Law.  But the tax collector is despised as a sinner, collaborating with the occupying Roman forces, and betraying and cheating his own people.  

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' "  My study Bible comments that the practices of this Pharisee are worthy example for all to follow.  He does good deeds such as fasting and giving tithes (two hallmarks of historical Lenten practices, we may take notice here) are in fact the primary weapons against the passions of lust and greed (adultery and extortion).  But without a humble and repentant heart, such outward practices are deemed worthless by my study Bible, and under such conditions they lead only to pride and judgment of others.  It's important to note that the text tells us this man prays with himself.  As my study Bible explains, God is absent where there is boasting.  

"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' "  This tax collector, my study Bible says, shows by his posture an awareness of the state of his soul.  He stands far from the altar of sacrifice, and his eyes are cast downward.  His prayer, God, be merciful to me a sinner, is the foundation of the Jesus Prayer.  Moreover, the refrain "Lord have mercy" permeates worship practices as well as personal prayer.  

"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."   To be justified means to be forgiven and set right with God, my study Bible explains.  It notes here that inward humility is blessed while pride in outward deeds is condemned.  

Today's parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector places a great deal of emphasis on humility.  Perhaps this is the singularly most important virtue in terms of our focus during Lent.  Humility is often thought of as something we express before other people, or perhaps in our face to face encounters with others.  But humility only properly begins with humility before God first.  It is that relationship with God that sets down the proper conduct and boundaries for our relationships and communion with other people.  Humility does not imply that one is "less than" another person, nor that one is meant to be "humiliated" or to grovel before others.  Humility is, instead, our guarantee of reliance upon something that is real, a correct assessment of ourselves and our circumstances, and that we don't step outside of or beyond boundaries that are proper to ourselves.  We might also note that in today's parable, Jesus compares the two men in terms of their levels of humility before God, but they are not compared to one another on any other ground.  Jesus does not focus on adding up the virtues of the Pharisee that he brags about, nor does Jesus tear down the Tax Collector for the work that he does.  In this story, the example is about how we come to terms with who we are by being face to face, in humility, with God.  It is once again a way of seeing that we can only come to measure ourselves with hope of a realistic assessment if we do so by coming to God in humility, with God's judgment as the proper yardstick for measurement.   At the end of John's Gospel, there is the story about St. Peter coming to Christ after his denials of Christ, and after Christ's Resurrection.  In that story, Jesus first asks Peter three times, "Do you love Me?" and when Peter replies affirmatively, Jesus tells him what he is to do:  "Feed my lambs."  In this way, Peter is restored to Christ after his three denials of Christ.  But then, another thing happens.  Peter -- as is so frequently the case -- isn't quite satisfied in his exuberance.  He then turns to Jesus and asks about John, who is nearby, and asks Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus replies to Peter, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me" (see John 21:15-22).   In other words, it's up to Peter to 'mind his own business,' so to speak, and focus on what is his to do, not on others.  In this sense today's teaching on humility is also pertinent, for our jobs do not consist of comparing ourselves to others, one way or another.  We stand before Christ, and only humility is appropriate for this relationship and communion, because it is in Christ that we find One who knows us far better than we know or understand ourselves, and One whose love encompasses all things, including the particular roles God desires for us in life.  We needn't fear this humility, because even when we are corrected, we are received in love, and God's truth is always for our benefit.  So let us get used to this idea of finding ourselves in that place where we place love of God as our first priority, and love of neighbor in relationship to that (see Matthew 22:36-40).  In this way there is no sense of envy nor comparison, there is no relationship of competition within a communion, but rather simply a desire to love and to be loved in God's embrace of ourselves and our community.  These conditions are essential for us to understand, for humility of the type which Christ exemplifies can only work in this way for us.  This is the way to sanity and health for all the things that ail us.  Let us seek God's love in this way, as does the tax collector, and find where true righteousness is for us, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"

 

 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

* * *

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled

And every mountain and hill brought low;

The crooked places shall be made straight

And the rough ways smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to  raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  

 

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." 

 

- Luke (1:1–4) 3:1–14 

 

On Saturday, we read the final reading in John chapter 12, as Jesus spoke at the Passover Feast after His Triumphal Entry:   Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.   And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.   I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

 

  Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.  My study Bible comments that although Luke was not a disciple from the beginning, he has perfect understanding of the gospel because his sources were the apostles themselves, the eyewitnesses of Christ.  Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus, who was a prominent Gentile who had received Christian instruction (see also Acts 1:1).  It cites St. Ambrose, who notes that Theophilus can simply mean any "lover of God," and therefore he writes, "If you love God, it was written to you."

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.   As in the beginning of his Gospel (see Luke 1:5), Luke is careful to note the historical setting of the events his Gospel narrates.  My study Bible comments that an ancient prophecy of Jacob indicated the Messiah would come when a king ruled who was not from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).  Jesus was born under the ruler of Herod the Great, who was a non-Jew who called himself king of the Judea.  Now at this beginning point of Christ's ministry, while John the Baptist is preaching his own call to repentance in preparation for Christ, Herod's sons rule as tetrarchs.  Herod the tetrarch of Galilee is also known to us as Herod Antipas.  Caiphas was now the sole high priest, but people also recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law Annas, a previous high priest who was deposed by the Romans.

And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . .  My study Bible comments that the call to repentance was tradition for prophets.  John's baptism did not grant remission of sins once and for all, but prefigured and prepared people for the baptism of Christ which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).  John is a figure of the Law in that, like the Law, he denounced sin but could not remit (literally "put away") sin.  Both John and the Law point to the One who can remit sin.  

 

. . . as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  The voice of one crying in the wilderness (as quoted here from Isaiah 40:3-5) is ascribed by John the Baptist to himself, in his role in the story of the Christ, in John 1:23. 

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to  raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  My study Bible comments that while parents and ancestors help impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself does not make one worthy of God.  It notes that each person in every generation must bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Stones symbolize the Gentiles who would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18).  

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."   Like Jesus' teaching about Judgment in the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46, John the Baptist counsels compassion as a standard rule for behavior and living a life of repentance.  Those who are well-to-do should share with the poor.  The tax collectors, who frequently practiced extortion as a matter of course, are told to do their job honestly and collect no more than their appointed share.  The soldiers serving Rome frequently did the same, and so could use their rank to intimidate and extort; they also are to be content with their wages.  

Let us make an immediate observation about John the Baptist's teachings to those who ask him what they should do to practice repentance in preparation for the Lord.  While our immediate commentary was on its entrenched prescription of compassion, which is so elegantly echoed by Christ in the parable of the sheep and the goats, and His specific prescriptions of visiting those who are sick, or hungry, or in prison (Matthew 25:31-46), we might also make another observation about them, and that is that -- yes, while all are acts which involve compassion -- they also involve sacrifice.  In other words, John tells the people to share with those who have less than they do; he tells the tax collectors to collect only what they can do honestly and without extortion, and the same thing he tells to the soldiers:  to do without the extra they can collect through dishonest, manipulative, and violent means.  (It would seem that the latter was quite a standard practice.)  He was telling them -- and also us, today -- that the decent and humble behavior that goes with honor is an important part of repentance, of living as though we expect the Lord at any minute and are aware of His power of judgment.  This might not seem like great, heroic expectation, nor is it highly exciting or ambitious, but it is the stuff of living a decent life and being as honest as we can within our particular sphere of where we are and who we are in the world.  In these days of competition about whose "wokeness" is greater, whose sense of compassion can be publicly expressed so as to elicit the most approval and good public relations, we can look to John the Baptist's more modest prescriptions about doing the best we can in the ways our jobs and lives permit as something more reasonable and bearing the hallmarks of truth and familiarity with the reality of people's lives in a much deeper way than today's media often allow us to think about.  We don't need a special secret superpower to be the kind of responsible person to God that John says we can be.  Neither do we need to spread the word about our good deeds to the whole world.  In fact, in John's more realistic picture of life here, we might be better off if we do not do that.  While John sought to prepare people for Christ, for the gospel message and for Christian baptism, his realistic teaching to the people who ask him for help puts us in mind of an event broadcast around the world today, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.  While attitudes about the British monarchy in particular or monarchy in general may vary, Queen Elizabeth -- at least for today -- is being praised for her capacity for self-denial in responsibly discharging her duties in her position.  She seems never to have openly taken sides in a political dispute among her subjects, even to have allowed those close to her to hear a political opinion one way or another.  In an age where we are used to seeing emotional expression all about us, the Queen remembered her role and seems to have played her part without personal bias or feeling overriding her responsibility, whether that be a political opinion or personal feelings.  In that sense, she stands praised today as someone who gave an example of what it was to serve dutifully, and put her private feelings and desires aside, yet caring to express compassion in ways still fitting to duty and protocol.  In this day when so many are praising -- at least for today -- this capacity for sacrifice, let us remember the humble and honest words of John the Baptist.  For each of us are capable of doing likewise in our own ways -- and more than that, we are each called to do so.

 

 

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.





 

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

Christ the Good Shepherd, mosaic, c. 425.  Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna

 "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."

- Matthew 23:13-26

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples in the temple at Jerusalem, 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 in it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it."   My study bible tells us that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who don't love God can hinder others from finding God as well.  Therefore, it says, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).   Here Jesus begins an eightfold indictment of the scribes and Pharisees.  As my study bible lists these charges, Jesus accuses them of inverting God's values and being mean-spirited, judgmental, greedy, ambitious, absorbed in externals, and blindly self-righteous.  Let us note that each of these charges are punctuated by accusations of hypocrisy, and each of these acts constitute part of that hypocrisy.  My study bible adds that while these charges are directed by Jesus to the leadership of His time, every word applies equally to those in the Church who behave this way.  This would be true of our own time, or of any other time.

"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 (which is The Orthodox Study Bible) calls these warnings especially important to Orthodox Christians.  Indeed, they apply to all normal practices of faith in every denomination.   Specifically for the Orthodox, the Church has maintained the ancient practices of tithing (These you ought to have done), sacred vessels, holy rites (verse 27, which will be part of tomorrow's reading), and following the patristic tradition handed down from the earliest Church.  These practices, and indeed the practices in each denomination, in the words of my study bible, 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.  Regarding Jesus' words that they strain out a gnat and swallow a camel, this refers to the practice of the Pharisees to attach strainers to the mouths of decanters, in order to avoid accidentally consuming a ritually unclean substance.  To cleanse the inside of the cup and dish is once again turning our attention to the inner life of the heart and soul,  doing the work of seeking true self-knowledge and taking decisive action necessary to correct abusive behavior (18:8-9), away from hypocrisy.

Jesus condemns the leadership in their hypocrisy, and in the practices used that express that hypocrisy.  If we take a closer look at it, we see that Jesus' grand summary really begins with the overall accusation:  they "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."  In other words, their own practices hinder the members of their flock, the ones in their care, from finding God.  Let us take a look at  today and we'll find  that practices in our own time can have the same effect.  When people are harmed or abused within the Church, what does this do to the individual believer -- especially if that believer is helpless or powerless like a child -- but to seriously harm and put obstacles in the way of their own path to God?  Abuse within His Church is something that Christ addressed early on with the disciples, in chapter 18, soon after the disciples are told about Jesus' forthcoming journey to Jerusalem, and they begin to ask Him who will be the greatest in the kingdom that they imagine will be imminent.  His first act is to prepare them for real leadership by speaking on no uncertain terms about their jobs and responsibilities as those who will presume to any kind of "greatness" in His Church.  His first word is humility, and setting down in front of them the example of a little child as requirement for entering the Kingdom.  But His second warning is the starkest one:  "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!"  In other words, the highest job of a religious leader is the care of the souls of all the little ones, and that those souls reach toward God, each one having that precious weight in the sight of God.  Let us consider, then, Jesus' words regarding the leadership.  He specifically names the practices in which they engage and how they are so harmful.  They cover up their harmful greed with long prayers.  They seek out proselytes only to corrupt them even more than they are corrupt themselves.  They fail to recognize the power of God beyond the structures, gifts, and wealth of the temple.  They will tithe even herbs, but neglect the very substances of God's righteousness:  justice and mercy and faith.   They make such ritual of fastidiousness, and yet they overlook gross and overwhelming affronts to God's desire for clean hearts.  They will care so much about ritual purity, but extortion and self-indulgence lie within, and until that is cleaned, nothing of what remains matters.  In some sense, the last verse in today's reading is a re-statement of another teaching of Jesus, that "not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth" . . . for "those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" and "these are the things which defile" (see Matthew 15:1-20).   We might pay all the attention we can to the externals, put on all the right show to others and make conspicuous actions of faith or purity, but for Christ there is just one real test that matters, and that is the effort to know our hearts and work the real work of faith, to seek to follow the will of God.  In this way, He tells us, we will be family (see 12:49-50).  So in Jesus' words and teachings, we take yet another important step toward understanding real leadership.  It's not simply that we must do our best to lead all toward God, but moreover the way to take on that responsibility is to do our best to live the righteousness He teaches.  That absolutely includes the effort to be aware of and change or discard from ourselves anything that stands in the way doing so.   In this we will not only be good examples, but we will also help others to retain their own faith, and particularly seek -- in the humility required to be really honest with ourselves and before God -- to treat the littlest and meekest with proper care for their own essential journey toward God.  Here, finally, is the true image of the fullness of a human being, what it means to assume the capacities and choices we're given.  It is the requirement for leadership, but also, leadership exists on all levels.  There will be those little ones who suffer from abuse, even in the  Church, even in our families, and our institutions of all kinds, even when we have faith that all of these building blocks of our social fabric are nominally "good."  Let us be the ones who can help to lead all toward God, especially those who are most vulnerable to straying, and even in the times when leadership lets us down.  Like Christ, we are called to the truth He teaches, even in times when we are required to have courage to do so.  In yesterday's reading, we posted an icon of Christ the Good Shepherd.   Here in today's reading we are reminded of the fullness of His care for each of these, and that many are called, but few chosen.

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

- Luke 18:9-14

Yesterday we read the section in John's Gospel about Jesus' trial before Pilate:   The high priests and those who'd arrested Him led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king them?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector."  The Pharisee is a highly respected and careful observer of the Law.  The tax collector is despised -- he's a sinner who collaborates with the occupying Roman forces.  He betrays and cheats his own people, often using extortion to collect more for himself.

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'"  My study bible points out that the practices of this Pharisee are worthy examples for others to follow.  His good deeds (fasting and giving tithes) are considered the primary weapons against the passions of lust and greed (that is, adultery and extortion).  But without a humble and repentant heart or disposition, even the best outward practices are worthless, and lead to pride and judgment of others.  Note that the text tells us that he prays with himself.  My study bible says that God is absent where there is boasting.

"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'"  The tax collector expresses even by his posture an awareness of the state of his soul.  He stands afar off from the altar of sacrifice, and he won't even raise his eyes.  He prays what is perhaps the chief prayer of the Church, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!"  This is the foundation of what is called the Jesus Prayer, or Prayer of the Heart, and the basis for ancient monastic and lay practice to "pray without ceasing" as we are taught by St. Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).   He gives us the refrain "Lord have mercy" that permeates worship and personal prayer everywhere. 

"I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  To be justified is to be forgiven and set right with God.  My study bible says that inward humility is blessed while pride in outward deeds is condemned.

In today's reading we are given the primary emphasis in Lent:  humility.  Traditional practices such as prayer, almsgiving, and fasting are meant to have this primary impact that the development of humility is to teach us:  a closer and more dependent relationship upon God.  To be humble is primarily to have a distinct awareness of where we stand with God, where we stand with Christ.  How do we measure up in the sight of God?  Love goes a long way toward humility.  In love or in a loving relationship, all pretense can disappear.  To stand on pride is not really an act of love, it's a kind of manipulation, and can dissolve into abuse.   To be humble before God is to bear all, just as the tax collector does.  It is linked to truth and a pure heart -- because what is in the heart is what comes out of his mouth.  When we "pray with ourselves" as the Pharisee does, we cite the good things we do, but we're cultivating an image for ourselves, rather than asking God what the next step might be.  We're always on a road somewhere; when we're purely satisfied with ourselves we're not really listening for the forward movement God calls us toward.  We're not in that loving relationship.   Perfection is a goal realized in the pureness of love and communion.  Jesus says that "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  Everywhere we look, there are all kinds of ways to exalt ourselves, especially through social media.   Like the Pharisee who prays with himself, our lives can be all about a kind of publicity that reflects the image we want back to ourselves and in the eyes of others, making an impression.  But the depth of the heart is a different matter, and looking toward the deeper, higher, more truly majestic authority of God is a whole different story -- and that's where we need to be.   A communion of love drops all pretense and image and merely desires to please the Beloved with a sincere heart, and experience God's love which is absolute.  Let us consider this Lenten period how we get to that place.