ONCE AGAIN: HYPOCRISY!

SABBATH

 

Last year, I conducted a seminar about archaeology and the Bible. Among the many things archaeologists have excavated in Palestine are remnants of monumental tombs in honor of the prophets of old, just as Jesus mentions them in today’s Gospel passage. He accuses the Pharisees of building such monuments for the prophets whom their ancestors had murdered. And now, as the last sentence of the Gospel says, they are attacking not a prophet but the Son of God whom they eventually will also bring to His death on the Cross. Again, Jesus exposes what He hates most: hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is not something we find only in the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. Hypocrisy remains rampant in our world, in our society, and — let us be honest — even in the Church. As we said yesterday, we are proud to be a Christian country but we project a very un-Christian image to other nations. Some people speak out vehemently against the death penalty for heinous crimes but advocate death for unborn babies in the wombs of their mothers. There are politicians who claim to be pro-poor but accumulate immense wealth and cheat when paying taxes. There are regular churchgoers who treat their maids as if they were not also children of God but slaves, and destroy with their gossip the reputation of neighbors. There are politicians who claim that they want nothing more than to protect the environment but allow — for the money they get out of it — foreign mining companies to destroy forests, watersheds and mountains, and pollute rivers and water sources. The list is endless. Let us also look into our own daily life and attitudes and discover that we are also infected by it. Our actions do not always match our words and outward behavior. What would Jesus tell us if He would confront us? And how would we react to His stern, unrelenting criticism?Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD   Reflection Question: Do I tend to discover hypocrisy in others and forget that I myself might also be a hypocrite at times?   Lord, once again You directed my attention to the evil of hypocrisy. Once more, You made me aware of hypocrisy around me and in me. Heal me from this evil and let me become like You: open, direct, straight and clear in my words and actions.   St. Romulus, pray for us.