Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones!

 

 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 in 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 also is 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."   St. Cyril of Alexandria comments here that, while it would have been easy for the Lord to use other words in this teaching, He takes what is in front of them all at table and uses it as an opportunity.  He writes, "Since it was the time for eating and sitting at the table, he takes as a plain comparison the cup and the dish. He shows that those who sincerely serve God must be pure and clean, not only from bodily impurity but from what is hidden within in the mind."  Just as utensils for eating must be clean on the outside as well as clean of impurities in their composition, so it is with human beings. St. Cyril continues, "He says that [God] who made that which is on the outside also made that which is on the inside. This means that He who created the body also made the soul. Since they are both the works of one virtue-loving God, their purification must be uniform." COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 83.

 

 "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."  The Orthodox Study Bible (OSB) defines woe as a term which indicates complete and devastating destruction (Luke 6:24-26; see also Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).  The OSB comments here 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).  Moreover, it also adds that the warnings by Christ contained in today's reading are especially important to Orthodox Christians.  The Church, it says, has maintained the ancient practices of tithing (These you ought to have done . . . ), sacred vessels, holy rites, and following the tradition handed down from our Church forebears.  These practices 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.

 

 "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."  Regarding the prophet Zechariah mentioned here by Christ, the OSB remarks that some patristic writers teach that this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22), but others say it refers to the father of St. John the Baptist, who, according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple.

 

Hypocrisy is at the core of Christ's criticisms of these religious leaders among the scribes and the Pharisees.  It's important to consider just how and why hypocrisy is such a problem.  There is, of course, the important understanding that these men are supposed to be leading the people toward God, and that their behavior is in effect doing the opposite.  They claim to uphold the traditions of the faith, but they are defying them in their own conduct, nullifying the purposes of the Law in being unjust and selfish.  The word "hypocrite" comes from the Greek which was used to mean actor.  Its literal roots (hypo meaning "under" and kritos meaning judgment) derive from the actors in ancient plays who wore masks, and so played a particular character under the mask of an assumed role or attitude.  But a hypocrite who wears one face while living something entirely different is, in a sense, lying.  So, the roots of Christ's criticism begin with those who would deny or in some way carry out an act which disrespects truth.  Thus we find it possible that those who are meant to be humble before God, and lead others in the path of righteousness before God, are living a lie when they seek only a clean appearance with an unclean heart.  Jesus uses the example of tithing for the temple and the poor, while in fact denying justice and the love of God.  He cites their love of impressive social appearance, the best seats in the synagogues or ostentatious greetings in the marketplace (where the public is gathered).  To be likened to graves which are not seen is to be told that what is hidden inside is the uncleanness of death, corruption, deterioration.  The lawyers (scribes), He said, load men with burdens hard to bear -- judging under the weight of the Law and imposing a strict ruling, but they will not help others by lifting a finger.  Thus they practice legalism, while the mercy of God is not to be found in their conduct.  Finally there is the lie at the heart of the denial of the words of the prophets, a refusal to hear them, and a murderous heart that would respond by simply destroying them in any way possible.  For prophets tell the truth when those who are meant to lead the people in obedience to God fail to do so.  The shattering of the desired appearance is intolerable to the hypocrite who cares only for image and not for virtue or purity of heart.  In such a life, truth becomes an enemy to deny at any cost, even to oneself.  This is not the way that Jesus teaches us to live.  In our modern world, we are tempted on all fronts to create an image.  Especially through social media, through constant consumption of publicity done on others' behalf which fills popular entertainment of all kinds, we find a great deal of influence which asks us to live by appearance alone.  Even "cancel culture" works in such a way so as not to explore the inner reality of a person, but to judge according to gossip, speculation, or even deliberate slander for motives that have nothing to do with the complex truth of the inner life of a human being -- and without the depth of the heart that seeks first the kingdom of God.  Even in a purely "secular" life, hypocrisy is a slippery slope.  For while one "white lie" such as a false front of good manners can possibly avoid an undesired conflict, a continued process easily leads to a wider gap between appearance and reality.  Appearances can easily become all that matter, and supposedly hidden behavior more destructive.  This kind of lie means we live a contradiction, which we may hide from ourselves even as it is ultimately irrational.  Ultimately, Jesus gives a spiritual warning to all concerning such behaviors when He teaches, in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Hypocrites who fail to pursue such integrity, it is implied, will not.  Thus, the "woes" He pronounces on the scribes and Pharisees in today's reading.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 taught the people, 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 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 in 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 also is 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.  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."  Christ's criticisms of the Pharisees focus on their hypocrisy.  They scrupulously follow the rules and customs established, marking outward piety in appearance, but neglect the internal reality these practices are meant to uphold.  Thus Jesus asks, "Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?"  To pass by justice and the love of God is to neglect the weightier matters of God (Matthew 23:23).  My study Bible comments that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding God as well.  Therefore leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).  For Orthodox Christians in particular, these warnings are to be taken to heart today.  My study Bible adds that the Church has maintained the ancient practices of tithing, sacred vessels, holy rites, and following tradition handed down from Church Fathers.  It notes that these practices 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.  

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."  My study Bible explains that woe is a term indicating complete and devastating destruction (Luke 6:14-26; see Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).  Regarding the prophet Zechariah, some patristic teachers say that this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22), and others say it refers to the father of St. John the Baptist, who, according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple (Luke 1:5-25; 57-80).  

St. Ambrose comments on Jesus' remark to the Pharisee, "But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."  He writes that Jesus is saying that acts of mercy and compassion cleanse us (see also Christ's parable of the Sheep and the Goats).  It is a chastisement for their superiority, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy.  But let us note how acts of compassion would work to undo the criticisms of Christ, for acts of compassion would also heal the harsh hypocrisy of legal imposition that keeps the key of knowledge from those whom they are meant to lead.  Compassion, writes St. Ambrose, becomes a remedy for what ails the society.  Moreover, the word of God is another grace that would be a remedy for the circumstances.  Augustine points out that any act of mercy is an example of almsgiving:  not simply giving food or clothing to those who need them, but visiting the sick or those in prison "redeems the captive, bears the burdens of the weak, leads the blind, comforts the sorrowful, heals the sick, shows the erring the right way, gives advice to the perplexed, and does whatever is needful for the needy."  To forgive a trespass or spiritual debt is to give alms.  Even for someone in power to correct an abusive underling is an act of mercy (Proverbs 3:12).  All of these are remedies for the spiritual problems Jesus describes, and there are as many acts of compassion as circumstances we have in life.    Finally, to give the word of God, the "key of knowledge," is compassion, for it begins as the grace of God.  Standing before these men is One who comes in grace and who offers the word of God (indeed, who is the Word of God), but because their own internal hearts are hardened, they do not nurture this love within themselves and cannot therefore recognize Christ either.  Therefore, true acts of compassion, a cleansing of the "inside of the cup," would also begin to remedy this situation, restoring them to true spiritual leadership for the people in their places of power.  But instead, they will emulate their fathers who built the tombs of the prophets who came before Christ, and seek the murder the One who comes in grace with the key of knowledge for all.  It must be seen that this desire to murder is an expression of the failure of spiritual leadership, the ultimate expression of hypocrisy which is zealous only for its own place and position in the world, but not for the love of God which both asks from us and is nurtured by humility and compassion.   Who can understand the forgiveness of Christ without the exercise of compassion?  In Christ's statement, therefore, we can read a recipe for repentance and transformation, a remedy for hardness of heart, a beginning of understanding, which no legalistic zeal can give us despite the outward appearance of piety.  Let us remember the acts of compassion Christ will look for in the time of His own judgment, and go and do likewise.  Even the smallest, most obscure act of kindness, unknown to anyone else, is the best road to faith.

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered

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

- Luke 11:37-52

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus was speaking, 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 in 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 also is 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?"  The Pharisee is thinking about ceremonial washing, an observation of oral tradition (not violation of the law of Moses).  But Jesus speaks to the hypocrisy of strict observance of these built up customs as if they were in fact the fulfillment of the Law in and of themselves - and as if they were the only necessary focus.  To be holy in God's sight one must not neglect the "inside" also created by God.

"But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."  How does one build up the inside?  Giving alms, the practice of charity, is one way of building up an internal cleanliness, so that then everything is clean.   We can see this in the practice of Christ's mercy, when He touches a leper to heal.  (See Titus 1:15.) 

"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."   All of these things are an indication of emphasis on the external, on only things done to be seen.  To tithe herbs but to bypass the justice and love of God is to do what is tiny and to bypass what is of the essence and truly great.  To love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces is to crave the admiration of others as one's focus.  But they neglect the love of God which defines and centers everything else.  In this way they are like unseen graves; their inner death and emptiness is unseen and unknown, the worth of the soul forgotten.  Jesus does not condemn religious practice designed to shore up faith and center us on the love of God and neighbor.  What He condemns is the use of built-up traditions in such a way that obscures the focus on the heart and the love of God and allows for its neglect.  Woe is a term that indicates complete and devastating destruction, says my study bible (6:24-26; see Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of the all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."   It is possible to be zealous for the law and to neglect the weightier matters of love of God and true justice.  My study bible says 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.  Thus leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1). 

 Christ calls hypocrites those whose emphasis is so fully on the outside that they neglect the "inside" -- the inner part of a person.  This inner part is also understood as the heart of a person.  That is, that which unites all that we are:  mind and spirit and soul.  Jesus says that to clean this inside renders all clean; the body is not left out of this understanding.  Jesus addressed this in yesterday's reading, when He said, "The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light."  This lamp of the body is the spiritual eye; that is, the mind, that with which we perceive and view life.  In effect, He's telling these men that they don't allow the light to come into that eye and to make all things clean.  True purity or cleanliness of the heart leads to an understanding of what is truly clean or pure.  A wholly external emphasis on rules compiled via oral tradition renders these men hypocrites.  They neglect the weightier matters of justice and mercy in favor of how they are reflected back to themselves in the eyes of others, their peers and contemporaries.  This is what Jesus means when He tells them that they "love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces."   What is really important here is not a separation between external and internal.  In fact, this is what Jesus is condemning as hypocritical.  (The word hypocrite in the Greek originally means "actor."  In the ancient plays such as those contemporary with Jesus' time, actors wore masks to denote their characters.  Hypocrite literally means "under the mask.")   What Jesus is offering is the authenticity of a heart devoted to loving God and neighbor, and in the fullness of life this means that externally acts are also clean.  This is a true salvation of all of life, not a separation of interior and exterior.  Hence, St. Paul writes in a letter to Titus:  "All things are clean to the clean" (Titus 1:15).  My study bible emphasizes the danger to Christians as well in that when we have beautiful ritual and practices, all those traditions designed to shore up the love of God and neighbor, we also run the risk of putting all the emphasis on the external and neglecting the very thing the practices are meant to help.  Prayer must be the place we go to find God and the love of God in our hearts, which leads us to true purity and righteousness.  That is, to right-relatedness to the world and all beings and things in it.  It is not about being seen by others.  Alms-giving, charity, the practice of mercy becomes treasure in heaven when it comes from a pure heart.  Hence, Jesus will teach that we go into our inner chamber -- alone with God our Father "who is in the secret place" and "who sees in secret," and He will reward openly.  That word for inner chamber indicates an inner room in a house for the storage of valuables, and it truly works through all meanings implied, including to teach us that we need to pray undisturbed whatever else we do -- and emphasizes Jesus' teachings about the treasures of the heart as well (see Matthew 6:6, 21).   All emphasis here goes back to the love of God, the true love of God in the heart that enlightens everything else.  What He implies in today's reading is that these men are like those who killed the prophets sent by God (their "fathers").  That is, the prophets were sent to remind the people of the love and this commitment to God they lack -- and were killed for doing so.  It starts with the heart, and none of us are immune from the temptation to external emphasis, to hypocrisy.  Those in leadership, especially, deprive others when they fail to be true to this kind of purity and integrity.  Let us remember God's love.