Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.”
— Matthew 23:13-22
In today’s Gospel we see Jesus being somewhat severe towards the scribes and Pharisees. At first glance, we might think He’s being a bit too severe. After all, these attacks can even seem like He’s personally against the Pharisees and scribes.
But Jesus is using the example of the Pharisees to make a broader, critical point: You can claim to love God all you want. You can proclaim Christ as your Lord and Savior with your lips. But what truly matters are the contents of your heart.
What is your intention behind keeping God’s commandments?
Do you do it out of love of God or do you do it —like the Pharisees— to receive praise and pridefully boast about your own “holiness”?
Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, and His Words serve as a warning: it’s very easy to fall into the hypocritical, prideful tendency to keep the commandments to receive praise or aggrandize ourselves, and forget that the core of obedience is love.
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t express our faith outwardly, but that the outwards expression cannot serve to conveniently hide a prideful, greedy heart.
Pray today that God grants you the Grace of an honest, loving heart, and that He purifies your intentions so that you can follow and obey Him not out of pride, but out of a genuine desire to love The Lord.
Thank you for reading, and God bless you!
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Thoughtful and humbling!
It seems prideful when religion preaches humility and equality yet leaves women out of leadership. If faith calls us to honor God through all people, then silencing half of creation feels like a contradiction.