Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom 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

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and it is Holy Week.  He has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, and engaged in confrontation, questioning, and testing by the leadership, with His own challenging responses.  (See the readings from Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.)   In yesterday's reading, Jesus began what is known to be His last public sermon, in which He gives a sweeping indictment of the practices of the leadership, particularly the scribes and Pharisees.  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 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."  In this final public sermon, Jesus names the hypocrisy in the practices of the scribes and Pharisees.  We should read it like a final warning, a caution, an effort of mercy on Christ's part.  In these first verses, Jesus declares woe in response to the neglect of salvation -- the salvation of their followers and their flock.  True salvation and illumination happens in the love of God, but we can see where the focus is here:  the pretense of long prayers, the greed of "devouring" widows' houses.   Such leaders with this focus cannot lead their flock to the kingdom they fail to enter.   The widows are among the poor and powerless, the vulnerable.

"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."  How can those with the focus Jesus' names bring their proselytes to the kingdom?  My study bible says 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.  They must be held to a higher standard (James 3:1).  Every word in Christ's final sermon must be equally applied to those in His Church.  His words here warn of a kind of slippery slope:  things don't stay the same but become worse with successive orders of bad leadership.  There is a parallel to His teaching in chapter 12, also contained in a passage criticizing the leadership -- in that case, for their demand from Him for a sign.  He taught, "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation" (12:43-45).

"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."  Jesus alludes to the practice developed of swearing by the gold of the temple and of the gifts on the altar.  But there is a failure to recognize who it is who gives value to the gold and the gifts.  There is a failure to understand God in the temple, God on the altar.  Their own blindness to the first great commandment to love God determines the rest of the mistaken practices here, the failure to know God and thereby that from which all value comes.   The lack of understanding of gifts and value is clearly tied spiritually and psychologically to the focus on greed and the failure to grasp the kingdom, the "pretense" of long prayer for show.  There is a lack of awareness of the presence of God, and this permeates all things.

"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!"  Jesus again refers to particular practices and the hypocritical ways in which they are done.  Tithing is an ancient practice still done in the Church (Jesus says, "These you ought to have done . . ."), but they have neglected what was more important at the same time.  Herbs like mint and anise and cummin would be weighed for a tithe, but the weightier matters of the law are justice and mercy and faith.  My study bible says that practices such as tithing "can be deep expressions of 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."  To "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel" references  the practice of attaching strainers to the mouth of vessels in order to avoid accidentally swallowing an unclean substance.  Camel here is (obviously) used for its figurative sense as something tremendously large, just as it is in the expression, "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" (19:24).  They are scrupulous about the gnat, and blind to the camel:   a good image of the weightier matters they have neglected and left undone.

"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."  Scrupulous attention to ceremonial cleanliness here is made an analogy to the care for appearances more than the heart.  To cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may be clean also, is to take care of the matters of the heart, of faith and righteousness, mercy and justice.  They are failing to cleanse the extortion and self-indulgence that keep them and those they would lead away from God.  See also this reading, in which the scribes and Pharisees criticized Jesus' disciples for failing to practice ceremonial washing, and Jesus' teaching response to them in a public sermon. 

Hypocrisy, in Jesus' teaching here (and we remember this is a public sermon, His final public discourse) is a certain failure to practice the weightier matters of God, the things that mustn't be neglected.  Hypocrite comes from an ancient word that means "actor."  It is literally "beneath the mask" such as actors in ancient plays would wear as keys to the character they portrayed.  When piety is only used as mask, we are neglecting real salvation, inviting trouble.  It is the things of the heart -- which Jesus always emphasizes -- that determine where our salvation is.  That's not to say that practices and traditions are wrong.  Jesus does not say that (for example, He says of tithing practices above, "these you ought to have done").  But when they are used to neglect the weightier matters of the heart, they become a mask.  This strikes to the core of true repentance, which is an affair of the heart, the innermost depth of who we are.  Interestingly, Origen writes a commentary on this passage in which he states that all of these "good practices" in and of themselves do not bring us salvation.  We may congratulate ourselves on our good deeds, our tithing, almsgiving, fasting, psalms and prayers, but merely of ourselves as achievements these things don't give salvation.  He likens the heart to the altar  of which Jesus speaks which confers the true measure and value of the gift.  Origen writes of a person whose heart is truly in his practice that "his heart is the altar that sanctifies his offering which is the heart of the world. The heart and the conscience of such a man 'do not feel remorse but have trust in God,' because his own heart has been rightly formed. He does not rely on his gifts as such or the words of his prayers or of his psalms—although they may seem well composed and chosen from the Scriptures—but on the heart rightly formed."  A heart consecrated and devoted in love of God produces the gifts of great value.  But without such a heart the gifts bear little worth, and do not confer the hope of heaven, wherein lies "throne of God" which Jesus names above.  In these practices, Jesus teaches us, it is where the heart is that conveys their true depth, and value, and meaning.  Hypocrisy prevents such an event of truth to pass, even when one practices the most "noble" or "holy" or traditions.  Why is it important that we love first God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength?  Because this is what confers value and wisdom in all the rest, and gives us insight and enlightenment into true works of love for others.  It is what prevents hypocrisy, living for show, with a focus on whether or not others approve of us, making such opinions weightier than the opinion of God.  That first love is what confers value upon all the rest, and gives us the tools to truly practice faith and help others with our love and with wisdom.  Let us not neglect the weightier matters of the heart in all things.

Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God

 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

"But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You  reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."

- Luke 11:37-52

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus spoke, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it under a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body is also full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."

 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."   Jesus emphasizes the interior of the person, the heart.  To "give alms" of the interior "things" is like understanding the phrase, "I demand mercy, not sacrifice" - Hosea 6:6.  (See Matthew 9:13, 12:7.)  It is also reflected in St. Paul's teaching about the circumcision of the heart (see Romans 2:29).  We give of ourselves; this is part of the taking up of each one's cross.


"But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  My study bible says that these warnings are especially important for Christians, particularly those such as the Orthodox whose traditions include many ancient practices:  tithing ("giving alms"), using sacred vessels, holy liturgical rites, and many other traditions handed down from Church Fathers.  These practices, which are quite beautiful, can also lead to a kind of blindness:  either they are expressions of deep faith and lead people to a deeper commitment to God, safeguarding a life in Christ -- or they can be observed "without ever taking them to heart and lead to condemnation."  We note again the "weightier matters" (see Matthew 23:23) of justice and love of God, which Jesus says are things we give of the heart.  We note that justice and love of God go hand in hand, as in the two greatest commandments.   My study bible adds:  "While these charges were directed against the Jewish leaders of the day, every word applies equally to those in the Church who behave in this way."

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You  reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation."   This is a similar kind of statement to the one made in yesterday's reading, in which those who rejected Christ were unfavorably compared (with reference to judgment) to the people of Nineveh and the queen of Sheba.  Only here the judgment comes upon them as they continue in the ways of earlier poor leaders who persecuted and murdered prophets of the word of God.  Burdening others (with requirements of the law) and failing to "lift a finger" to help with the burden is also another failure of the heart:  a failure of love and mercy, a failure of true justice.

"Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."  My study bible says that "woe" is a term that indicates complete and devastating destruction.  It notes also, "Because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding Him as well.  Thus, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1)."  In my opinion, the key of knowledge is the love of God.

So, if we can assume that all of the practices that Jesus condemns as hypocritical are all meant to be created to do good, we can see a great paradox here.  The tithing that He says is simply a surface cover, a false mask for the failure to practice justice and the love of God, is meant as a practice to convey just that:  justice and the love of God.  It tells us that there is something more than practice, that the heart can still be quite severed from the goals the practice is designed to enforce and support and help make stronger.  So, what is it to have justice and love of God in the heart?  If we think about practices like fasting and tithing, we can see a common denominator:  they are practices that give us discipline regarding our own selfishness or self-indulgence, they teach us we can rise above basic desires and make decisions for personal discipline, we can sacrifice to a greater good, we are not just beings with impulses we follow blindly.  We make choices.  There's a deep sort of a crux there regarding loving God and practicing justice:  we can choose to love God and to practice God's justice which is never estranged from mercy.  We were meant for a higher purpose than a simple self-centeredness; we were created for glory.  This glory is reflected in the kind of ways we learn to take on the light of God that has been given to us via grace and shine it for the world.  In such a teaching, every single thing we are or have can be used for God's purposes.  If we can sing we can develop that talent for the glory of God and to express the love we find in God to the world.  (No comment on some of the pop stars of today.)  I recently saw a story about a 99-year-old American woman who makes one child's dress a day for poor girls in Africa to have at least one beautiful thing to wear.  Every single thing we are or that by which we have been blessed can go to the love of God and the practice of God's justice in the world, to shine the light of God's love.  This, of course, includes all "talents" - even if our talent is to make money and profits!   There is nothing and no one who stands outside of this command, this desire for God to be united in love with God's children, and for the children to reflect God's glory.  Let's think about what the justice of God really means, how if we truly love God we will seek to reflect God's justice, inseparable from mercy.  Jesus has emphasized love when He said, "The poor you always have with you," in response to the complaints about the woman with the jar of expensive ointment.  The emphasis in that teaching was on love -- and takes us away from the notion of giving as merely a duty that can be used to cover up a heart that is not filled with the love of God that must always be connected with God's practice of love.  Our giving, in whatever form it may take according to our capabilities, has to be connected to love, to the heart.  The ills of the world fall so hard on the shoulders of the vulnerable:  the widow, the orphan, the poor, the ostracized, the vanquished, the refugee.  They fall on all of us, but vulnerable populations are especially preyed upon by predators that reflect the evil of all kinds of vice, of rage, of lust and covetousness of every kind, of cruelty.  The love of God in the heart must lead to the desire to see justice for God's children.  Perhaps it is the freedom to know and love God, to know God's love for oneself, that is the greatest liberator of all.  It is through God's love that we must see the most vulnerable populations of the world, and we must remember too that "vulnerable" can come where we least expect it.  It is a question of taking notice, and living the prayerful life that can teach us where and how our help is needed at all times.  Let us remember that we may be called upon to give in all kinds of ways that will surprise us; love is giving of yourself.