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Gospel: Matthew 23: 27-32
Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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During the month of Passover, Jewish pilgrims flooded the city of Jerusalem. On their way in, they would pass by a slew of tombs, each freshly painted white.
Simply touching one of them would render a person impure, preventing them from entering the Temple to pray.
Although these pearly white headstones glistened in the sun, below the surface they were full of decay and bones.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues his sweeping condemnation of the religious authorities, likening them to freshly painted, pearly white headstones, who glisten on the outside with jewelry and fine vestments, but are dead within.
The Lord never questioned their commitment to the Law. The religious leaders were exceptionally tedious, washing their hands until their fingers were like mushy prunes, and reciting the scriptures in public until they were blue in the face.
But it was all nonsense. They were dead – defiled – within.
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It remains a terrible truth, but human beings, even religious leaders, are capable of hiding their true intentions, appearing as whitewashed tombs.
As Shakespeare’s Hamlet once lamented, “That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.”
At times, the challenge for believers is to not allow the scandal caused by others to lead us away from the Church, or from God.
As Jesus says elsewhere, “It would be better for them (those who cause scandal) to have a millstone wrapped around their neck and be tossed into the sea.”
May our eyes remain fixed on the source our faith and hope, Jesus Christ, who has left us an example to follow.
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Image credits: (1) Photowall (2) Phil Cooke (3) Redbubble