Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away

 

 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

 

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.   But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 

 

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,  and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  Therefore shall be weeping gnashing of teeth."

 

- Matthew 24:32–51 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His prophesy on end times.  He said, "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.  Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.  Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 

 

  "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."  My study Bible explains that this generation is a reference to all believers at all times, the generation of the Church, and not simply to those live at the time of Christ.  

 

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom here, who says that Christ tells of the angels being unaware of the exact day of His return "so that men should not seek to learn what angels do not know," and to forbid them not only from learning the day, but from even inquiring about it.  Moreover, my study Bible notes, according to Mark 13:32, and in Chrysostom's own St. Matthew text, Jesus declares that the Son also does not know the day of His own return.  According to St. Chrysostom, this is not to be understood literally, but it is a figure of speech which means that Christ -- although He revealed all the signs that will accompany His return -- will not reveal the exact day to anyone, and that believers should not be so brazen as to inquire of Him.  

 

 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.   But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left."  The second coming of Christ will entail a sudden revelation of judgment.  One will be taken to heaven, my study Bible says, and the other left for eternal condemnation.  This separation of the saints from the wicked will occur at the coming of the Son of Man, and not, as some teach, at a certain time before Christ's second coming.  

 

"Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  My study Bible comments here that Christ's purpose in this discourse is not to make people experts on end-time prophesy.  Rather it is so that they may watch and be ready, continuing in virtue and obeying Christ's commandments. 

 

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,  and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  Therefore shall be weeping gnashing of teeth."  This parable illustrates and emphasizes Christ's warning to watch and be ready, continuing in living our faith -- practicing virtue and obeying His commandments.  As He has said earlier in this discourse:  "He who endures to the end shall be saved."

 

In yesterday's reading and commentary, we shared a note in my study Bible that cites 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.   It noted that this passage was one of the clearest in the New Testament on the return of Christ, in the words given to us by St. Paul.  Of importance to the early Christians who were undergoing persecution was that the news of the return of Christ was meant as a comfort.  To fear His return, and the judgment that entails, is to get it all wrong, so to speak.  We need not fear a loving God, and we need not fear our call to repentance for precisely the same reason; our God is love itself (1 John 4:8).  These end times described by Christ actually teach us about the unfortunate effects of a rebellion against God, and the failure of faithfulness.  So, Jesus' constant words both of warning and encouragement in today's reading are meant to teach His followers, then and now and into the future, what we are always to be about.  We're to be alert and watchful, knowing that there are those who will wish to deceive us, either through false theologies and heresies or other means.  He wants followers who truly live their faith and are heedful of His commandments.  More importantly, those who will endure in the midst of all the possible tribulation or calamity or difficulty we might face.  For this very endurance in faith is to wage the true spiritual warfare against "principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  Simply caring enough about spiritual truth, and living our lives in accordance with the faith He's given us, pursuing the grace we're given and the capacity for repentance as needed:  all of this is what is meant by spiritual warfare.  And therefore all of this is what counteracts the entropy Jesus describes in the world and is our proper response.  Moreover, as my study Bible emphasized about the passage from 1st Thessalonians, these words are meant as comfort.  To fear judgment is to be unaware of the loving nature of God and God's call to us.  Additionally, we must understand that St. Paul's words regarding "those who have fallen asleep" (verse 13) tell us something important about the present condition of spiritual reality.  That is, that those who have passed are all beneficiaries of our prayers.  For it is in the final judgment of Christ that all things are gathered together and reconciled, but without this event our loved ones and those whom we know who have passed are "asleep."  Let us take to heart that what this implies is that our prayers are effective beyond this world, even as we know there is a living communion of saints (which includes the angels) with whom we also worship and pray.  So let us, indeed, take heart.  For we are surrounded not only by the activity of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, through this time, but also the "great cloud of witnesses" with whom we may also pray, and whose prayers we may also invoke.  And should we be concerned about friends and loved ones who have passed, we take comfort in knowing that even through they sleep, they also can benefit from our prayers as we live through this time of the end and await Christ's return.  So let us take heart, for we have a great mission Christ has left us with, and His commands to follow, and the life to live that He has given us and taught us to live in faith and with grace.  For He gives us His words of warning so that we are "ready" for that time of His return, and we are faithful and wise servants.  Let us take heart, for we put our faith and trust into the One whose words will by no means pass away.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times

 

 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  

 

 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

- Matthew 16:1-12 

 

In yesterday's reading, we read that after healing the daughter of the Canaanite woman, Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.  Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.  So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.  Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."  Then His disciples aid to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"  Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.  Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.  And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

 

  Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times."  My study Bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  It tells us that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these men are hypocrites who have not recognized the signs already being performed by Jesus because their hearts were hardened.  Thus they ignore the works happening all around them.  

 

 "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Adulterous generation is an echo of the prophets, who used this term to indicate the faithlessness of the people in response to God (Jeremiah 2; Hosea 2:2-13).  Jesus refuses to prove Himself in a spectacular way, my study Bible tells us, for a sign is never given to those whose motive is to test God.  See also Matthew 4:5-7.  The sign of the prophet Jonah is a veiled prediction of Christ's death and Resurrection (Matthew 12:40), which will be the ultimate sign that He is the Christ.  

 

  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  My study Bible explains that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  It notes that the reason the disciples are painfully slow to understand is that they have such little faith; they would not fully realize Christ's teachings until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given.  Jesus here refers to the two separate feedings in the wilderness; found at this reading, and in yesterday's reading (see above).

 

Today's reading shows the disciples in a rather iconic place of incomprehension.  They don't understand what Jesus is talking about when He tells them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  We, the readers, are supposed to understand this, which is quite interesting, because St. Matthew has just reported Christ's interaction with the Pharisees and Sadducees, in which He called them hypocrites.  But the apostles can't understand what He is talking about, and they come to the conclusion (after they reasoned among themselves) that "it is because we have taken no bread."  This answer seems to strike Christ in a way that we haven't quite seen Him react before.  He reminds them of the feedings of thousands of people in the wilderness, which happened not just once but twice, going over the explicit details of each multiplication of bread from a few loaves to thousands.  And He asks, "How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Finally, they begin to understand.  Throughout the Bible, leaven functions as an image of adulteration, and almost always in a negative way.  St. Paul writes, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" (Galatians 5:9), speaking about a bad influence within the community, a doctrine that is not true.  Interestingly, in one of His parables of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus uses the image of leaven in a positive way, speaking of the influence of the kingdom which is transformational in its action (Matthew 13:33).  But, in this case, He is clearly indicating, as my study Bible said, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees, made manifest through their legalism.  Jesus also says to the disciples, ""O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?"  Importantly, my study Bible explains that this "little faith" is linked to their lack of understanding, and that a fuller grasp of Christ's teachings would only come after Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps there is a lesson there for us, in that so often we seek by pure reasoning to understanding moral teachings, or to approach Christ's teachings as purely philosophical or intellectual, subject to reduction to ethics.  But this is not the case for us either, inasmuch as it was not the case for the disciples.  For unless we also cultivate, secure, and honor the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and our need to guard our spiritual lives and hearts, so regarding of how we reason, we won't really fully understand Christ either.  For faith is not simply an intellectual process, or assumption of values or beliefs.  Faith is an active participation in Christ's life, death, and Resurrection, in the spiritual life of the kingdom of heaven which Christ preaches.  All of the practices of the Church with her sacraments and traditions (and the Bible is included in the Tradition of the Church) are meant simply to guard our lives within the power of the Holy Spirit, for there is established the Church in the first place.  For without the Holy Spirit, there is no Church, and no people of God.  Let us bear in mind that the disciples -- recorded for all of history here in St. Matthew's Gospel -- show us that even those hand-picked by Christ can fail to understand and miss the mark.  Jesus says to the Pharisees and Sadducees, "You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times."  Let us remember that it is the Holy Spirit which gives us discernment and understanding, and the grace of faith.  Let us take heed to keep ourselves on the path of the inner life of the heart Christ teaches us to keep and to know as the way in which we truly expand our faith. 

 

 

 

But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly

 

 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 

 

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

 

*  *  * 

 

 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

 

- Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18 

 

 We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).   In our readings for last week, Jesus' teachings focused on what it meant to "exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees."  On Saturday we read that Jesus taught: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.  You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

 

  "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven."  As we begin reading chapter 6, the Sermon on the Mount turns toward teachings about the three most basic aspects of spiritual living.  These are charitable giving, prayer, and fasting.  My study Bible comments that these three disciplines relate directly to God's righteousness.  

 

"Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."  Here the original meaning of the word "hypocrite" is significant.  In the ancient plays, actors wore masks indicating the particular disposition of the character they were playing.  "Hypocrite" refers to acting behind a mask, outwardly indicating one thing but hiding a true disposition (In Greek, hypo- is beneath or below; kritos derives from a verb meaning expressing an attitude or judgment.)  My study Bible explains that hypocrites are play-actors practicing piety for show, desiring to please other human beings rather than God.  It says that, wearing masks of compassion, inwardly they are heartless.  Their reward is the applause of men (meaning other people) and nothing more.  

 

"But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."  My study Bible comments that God is not impressed with what others think of us, nor by what we think of ourselves.  God will reward good deeds when they are based on pure motives of the heart. 

 

 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."  Here My study Bible notes that the hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which is an intimate, personal communion with God that leads the the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy effectively blocks out this communion and this vision.  True prayer isn't simply telling God what God already knows and then telling God what to do about it.  Neither is it appearing pious in front of others.  True prayer is humble (go into your room), personal (pray to your Father), and sincere.

 

One thing becomes very clear in today's reading, Jesus makes a great difference between what we do to be seen by others, and what we do in private.  The mask of a hypocrite allows a person to express one thing while hiding an internal reality, perhaps even from themselves.  Just as Jesus taught in the previous chapter that we are to go beyond the words of the Law in identifying causes of sin -- such as the anger or insult that leads to murder, or the lust that leads to adultery --  here He goes to the heart of the hypocrisy that prevents us from truly establishing a depth of relationship with God that we need, and the integrity He teaches us.  First He teaches, "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven."  Here there is a direct correlation between avoiding public display and receiving a reward from our Father in heaven.  Jesus is asking us to distinguish participation in the kingdom of heaven from participation in a worldly way, discerning between the rewards of God and the rewards of a life lived for worldly gain and approval.  Jesus takes this principle into prayer also.  He says, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.   Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."  We notice the repetition of the word "secret" -- to pray He advises to go into an inner room and shut the door, praying to our Father "who is in the secret place" and "who sees in secret."  Here is a hint about the kingdom of heaven, which Jesus elsewhere teaches "does not come with observation" but is within us (see Luke 17:20-21).  This teaching is linked to Christ's teaching regarding swearing oaths, found in Friday's reading, when He taught us to "let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.'"  They have in common an emphasis on personal integrity and purity (Matthew 5:8).  That is, a heart that is the same from the inside to the out, where the outer action is consistent with an internal devotion to God.   The word for "room" here is ταμεῖόν/tameion; it indicates an inner room not seen from outside, a secure room for valuables, a treasure room.  In modern Greek, this word is currently used to mean a cash register.  So Jesus indicates a kind of image of inner treasure in this secret place, with our Father who sees in secret.  As He preaches through the Sermon on the Mount, we find this progressive emphasis on the heart, the truth of the inner life and our devotion to God, connected to a growing purity within the self and ongoing repentance through faith as we're led, and the depth of relationship possible only in this way with our Father who sees in secret.  From anger and lust, to a depth of internal connection with our Father, we seek the purity of heart by which Jesus says we will see God.  Jesus gives us the structure of our souls and psyches, how faith works, and teaches that it is hypocrisy which will deny all of that to us, and will counter the depth of relationship possible with God.  So the question we ask ourselves is what we will seek -- the glory from men or the glory from God?  We may note the consistency of the Gospels on this topic, as St. John tells us sadly, "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).  In today's world, due to developments in technology, we are more saturated with imagery than ever.  We can watch endless streams of television shows and films at any time and with the immediate touch of a button; we chat on open screen with thousands, even millions, of people.  Life is more focused than ever before on appearance before others through these means, even pleasing a crowd that may notoriously turn on anyone, where behind a different kind of a mask, insults and threats may proliferate.  These are great temptations for all kinds of sins and errors which Jesus names in the Sermon on the Mount, particularly anger and lust to name just two we've reviewed.  The language of excess is far more aggressive than letting our "Yes" be "Yes" and our "No" be "No."  The pressure to participate in life that seeks approval of image is more subtle, myriad, and perhaps insidious than ever.  But all the more caution to be given -- and wisdom to be cherished -- through Christ's words.  Let us find His way to the inner room, spending time with our Father who is in the secret place, and who sees in secret, and cultivating the inner life of the Kingdom we so deeply need, and avoiding the temptation to lose it.  Clearly Jesus teaches that our Father will work openly in our lives as well.

 

 

 

This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men

 

 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to meet Him, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

'This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.

And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

"For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the  tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."  He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandments of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- ' (that is, a gift to God), "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."  

 

When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"  When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

 

- Mark 7:1–23 

 

Yesterday we read that, when evening came, as the disciples had been sent back across the Sea of Galilee by Jesus, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick  to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.

 

Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to meet Him, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'  For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the  tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."  He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandments of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- ' (that is, a gift to God), "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."  My study Bible explains that the issue in this passage is not the observation of Jewish customs or traditions, which are most definitely not prohibited by Christ (Matthew 5:17-19; 23:23).  The issue is setting human tradition contrary to the tradition of God.  The tradition of the elders is a body of interpretations of the Law, which for the Pharisees and the scribes was as authoritative as the Law, often superseding it.  So, according to this tradition (as my study Bible explains it) offerings (called Corban) could be promised to God, so it would render property or earnings still available to be used by oneself, but not for others -- including elderly parents.  My study Bible says that secondary traditions such as this obscure the primary tradition of the Law, which is contained in God's commandments.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13; Exodus 20:12, 21:17.  

 

 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"  When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."  My study Bible comments here that food cannot defile a person because food is created by God and is therefore pure.  Evil things are not from God -- and these are what defile a person.  

 

 In today's reading, Jesus gives us an example of how we can take the wisdom of God and turn it into something oppressive by seemingly expanding our zeal for it.  Certainly gifts to God are a good thing; donations to our places of worship and providing for the needs of worship for people are good and uplifting things.  But here, traditions of men have been established that allow people to supposedly express their love of God with gifts that in the end wind up creating circumstances that go entirely against the spirit of the Laws of God. To call something Corban, a gift to God, a kind of offering to the temple in trust during one's lifetime, meant that the owner of this property or gift could then only use it for themselves.   In this case, the example is about gifts that otherwise could be used to help dependent, elderly parents but are instead preserved for only the donor's use.  The practice functions as an excuse to refuse needed help.  Let us recall that the people involved in this story lived in a society that had no social assistance in any number of dimensions of the state as we know it, and so people were dependent upon family and clan for all kinds of needs, even for redressing simple grievances, for example.  Even with all of the extended social fabric of today with its assistance, programs for seniors such as Medicaid or Medicare, Social Security, and a whole host of social services from varied levels of government or community, we will often find ourselves called upon as family to assist others who are in need of extra care.  With all our modern sensibility of the need to care even for those whom we don't know but who are nonetheless members of our society, we lack a perfect system; there is always a need for help, oversight, and effort for those who are dependent for any reason.  So, we can imagine the needs of elderly parents in Christ's time.  What Jesus is saying, as my study Bible explains it above, is that the system of traditions developed by the Pharisees and scribes actually hindered God's Law as given to Moses.  These traditions harmed the outcomes desired by God, the care and structure of community, particularly in the very basic need to help one's elderly parents.  Anyone who has tangled with a bureaucratic requirement that actually hindered getting care for oneself or a family member is familiar with this sense that the spirit of the law is hobbled by the letter of the regulation.  But when it comes to God's purposes, we understand a double layer of hypocrisy from those who have leadership positions and yet enable such common problems of selfishness behind a mask of piety.  Corruption exists today just as it did then, but Christ's outspoken complaint comes in defense of God and God's purposes, for which He has been sent to us.  This isn't simply a violation of basic norms or common courtesy.  This crosses over into a type of blasphemy, where the outward appearance of serving God perverts God's justice and direct teachings.  In our modern age, we might not quite understand the depth of problem such a violation really means or entails, for it's an act against the Spirit of God, against what has been given us by the Lord, not simply a social problem.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness

 

 "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 father's 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 

 

On Wednesday we began reading Christ's final public sermon, an indictment of the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.  In yesterday's reading, He continued that sermon, saying,  "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."

  "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."  Here is Christ's vivid description of a hypocrisy that masks behavior that leads to death, not life.  

 

 "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 father's 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." My study Bible suggests that the reference to Zechariah (as in Luke 11:51) may refer to the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22), while there is another opinion it may refer to the father of St. 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 comments that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of His people, yet most do not want Him.  The desolate house refers both to the temple and to the nation itself, for "house" can be used to mean "family" or "tribe" (see Psalms 115:12, 135:19). Both the temple and the nation will be without God's presence once Christ departs.  Noteworthy here is the feminine, loving, protective motherly image Christ gives for Himself as a hen who seeks to gather her chicks under her wings.  

 

 Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees, "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."  In this image of the whitewashed tombs Jesus describes, we discover what we may look at as an illustration of what is called "the two ways."  These are the way of life and the way of death.  The two ways are specifically laid out for the people by God in the Book of Jeremiah, in which the prophet Jeremiah is instructed as follows, "Now you shall say to this people, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death'" (Jeremiah 21:8).  In Jesus' preaching, we are taught about the two ways in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus teaches, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13).  My study Bible tells us that the description of the two ways was widespread in Judaism (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:18-19, 12:28, 15:21; Sirach 15:17), and also in early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  In the struggle for the better way of the narrow gate, we as human beings wrestle against sin and human weakness in addition to spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12).  These varied forces and influences define the external focus of the religious leaders whom Jesus criticizes, who are like whitewashed tombs.  They are careful to appear to the world as pious and upholding religious law and doctrine, but their inner lives follow another way.  Hence Jesus' description, that all this beauty of the whitewash hides not only the sins done against others for gain (even "dead men's bones" that may allude to the prophets murdered by those in whose footsteps these men follow), but also their own neglect of their souls.  In Jesus words, they will "fill up the measure" of their "fathers' guilt."  Their hypocrisy, then, is a "way of death," another bad road leading to a bad end.  Jesus prophesies of those whom He will send out in the world:  "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."  But this bad road of hypocrisy in which, despite their words to the contrary, they follow the priests who stoned and killed the prophets before them, will lead to a particular end.  Jesus tells them, " . . . 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."  Those dead men's bones, and all uncleanness therefore includes not only the state of their souls in their turning from the love of God but also the sins of their ancestors whose ways they follow.  This is what it means that He calls them "sons of those who murdered the prophets."  We have to recall the repeated warnings to Israel by the prophets, constantly calling the people back to God, and persecuted and rebuked, even murdered, by those holding these responsible positions.  Jesus says to them that all this will come down upon this particular generation.  We must note that this passage ends with Christ's great, sad, and loving lament over Jerusalem, and her repeated refusal of the Lord's prophets who have been sent to her.  The Lord's "motherly" lament over His lost children echoes and expands upon David's mournful weeping over the loss of his rebellious son Absalom, and the transcendent love of the father for his lost son in Christ's parable of the Prodigal (2 Samuel 18:33; Luke 15:32).  Once again, we need to remind ourselves that these words of Jesus are not meant to simply teach us about the past, but to warn us about our own paths in life.  We are given grace to help us follow His light, to find His way of life for us (John 8:12).  I once spoke to a modern psychotherapist who put it this way; he said, "You're either going the right way or the wrong way."  In Christian terms, we follow the light or we don't.  To follow the light, as grace makes possible for us, is to find our lives in Him and where He leads.  To refuse is to find ourselves in darkness.  And this is what repentance is for, to come back to the way of life.  For He always awaits and calls us back.

 

 

 

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.    

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 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."

 

- Matthew 23:1–12 

 

Yesterday we read that when the Pharisees heard that Jesus 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."  While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him any more.  

 

 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying . . .  Here begins Jesus' final public sermon (which makes up nearly the whole of chapter 23).  It is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees.  There are several themes He involves.  My study Bible sums them up as follows:  First, the Jewish leaders have God-given authority and teach God's Law, but they are personally ungodly and cold-hearted.  So their teaching is to be honored, but they are not to be imitated.  Second, God is our true Father and Teacher.  A teacher or father on earth is one who leads people to God.  The scribes and Pharisees do the opposite, placing themselves in God's position.  These themes are covered in today's reading.  The rest of the chapter will cover an eightfold indictment of the scribes and Pharisees, in which Jesus charges that they invert God's values, they are mean-spirited, judgmental, greedy, ambitious, absorbed in externals, and they are blindly self-righteous.  My study Bible adds that while these charges were directed against the Jewish leaders of Christ's day, every word applies to those in the Church who behave in the same ways.

 

 "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."  To sit in Moses' seat, my study Bible explains, means to hold the succession of office down from Moses himself.  In the synagogue, the teacher spoke while seated as a sign of this authority . My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom's commentary, in which he said that the scribes were depraved in thought and in heart, yet Jesus still upholds the dignity of their office, as they don't speak their own words, but God's.  So also within the Church, clergy are to be shown respect for they hold the apostolic office, although they are also sinners.  Moreover, the sins of the clergy do not relieve the people from their resonsibilities before God.  Let us note here the cold-heartedness Jesus describes of those who bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders -- and yet will do nothing to help in the slightest.   This is in distinct contradiction to Christ's teaching in yesterday's reading (above), in which He cited the second greatest commandment as that in which we're told to "love your neighbor as yourself."

 

"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.'"  Phylacteries are small leather pouches which contain passages of Scripture and are worn on the arm or forehead.  The concept is to keep God's Law always in mind (see Exodus 13:9).  But instead the Pharisees used them for a false show of piety, making them increasingly larger and more noticeable.  

 

 "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." My study Bible says that Christ's warning against calling hypocrites father and teacher is not meant as an absolute prohibition against using these terms (as some teach).  These terms are applied to people many times in the New Testament, and all of these 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.  From the earliest days of the Church, bishops and presbyters have been called "father" not in order to take the place of God, but rather for their fatherly care of their flocks:  they lead people to God, and exercise fatherly authority within the community. 

 

Jesus teaches in today's reading, "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."  This is one of several occasions in which we read similar statements or teachings in the Bible.  See also, for example, Luke 14:11, 18:14; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 18:4, 23:11. There are many other occasions of such sentiment found in the Bible but using different language.  But in this context, this statement is given regarding use of the terms "father" and "teacher."  Jesus' statement is telling the disciples (and their spiritual descendants), who would come to be both "teachers" and "fathers" in the Church that they are not to be like the hypocrites.  This statement by Jesus suggests to us that if any of us, or if anyone in the Church, wishes to be thought of as teacher or father (or perhaps mother as well), then the only way to do this is to be a servant to others and to humble oneself.  It is in this way that teachers and fathers come to be exalted in the Church.  Oftentimes, we call such people saints, both literally and figuratively.  To be both humble and to serve is a way to curb the tendency to hypocrisy, as such discipline is counter to the goal of doing good works for the express purpose of simply being seen by others.  Human nature such as it is makes it difficult to both be concerned with serving others and also to tamper our desire to be seen as doing good.  The real emphasis here is on one's chosen aim or profession.  Do we really desire to teach?  Do we truly deeply desire to care for others with a "fatherly" (or motherly) care?  Or is our highest priority to be praised by others and to judge ourselves only through their eyes, rather than the eyes of God?  Every parent likely knows the dilemma of being a good parent -- and so sometimes having to say "No," imposing rules, and delineating boundaries, and wanting a child's love without their disappointment or disapproval.  Ultimately -- again, as in the teaching of the two greatest commandments in yesterday's reading (above) -- our highest priority needs to be loving and pleasing God, for in this way we do seek to be true teachers and fathers (and good parents, for that matter).  For this is where we go to be dedicated to truly learning love and goodness, what really serves, and what truly teaches.  There our desire can be met with God's care for our goals, and for the disposition of our souls.  Hypocrisy, living as an actor behind a mask (a literal understanding of the word's Greek roots) prevents us from assuming the humility necessary for sincerity, for the pure heart Jesus desires for us (Matthew 5:8).  A good teacher, just like a good father or mother, has for their primary concern the welfare of those under their care, and their first priority is not their own gain, well-being, or capacity to impress and lord it over others.  We are blessed in the Church to have a long history of many teachers, and many fathers, notably among those whom we call saints, but a myriad more whom we don't know.  Ultimately, as Jesus indicates, we have one true Teacher (the Christ) and one true Father (He who is in heaven).  We might call Christ the Teacher of all teachers, and God the  Father is the Father of all fathers.  But through humility and love we can learn to grow in likeness to them.  Let us start with Christ's first and greatest commandment, the love of God, and how love of neighbor (the second great commandment) can be expressed through all the teachers, fathers, and mothers of the Church.  Let us strive to become like them.