I pray for those who abuse their power to stop and for their victims to find ways to resist.

Reading: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. Matthew 23:27.
 
Good morning, happy Wednesday, and many blessings my dear family.
 
Today in the Gospel (Matthew 23:27-32), Jesus continues his diatribe about the Pharisees. He bluntly calls them hypocrites. He likens them to “whitewashed tombs” which look beautiful but deep within the tombs are nothing but bones and filth.

Place yourself in the Pharisees’ shoes. How would you react if someone accused you of the depth of hypocrisy that Jesus was accusing the Pharisees of? The Pharisees appeared to be righteous. However, Jesus accuses them of being filled with hypocrisy and evil. How dare he? Who did he think he was to make such critical and public remarks to the Pharisees? After all, they were the leaders in the temple. They were doing good, not evil.

The sad reality is that all of us have a “Pharisee” within us. I assume that most of us strive to look good. Naturally we desire to be esteemed and appreciated. We want to be competent, successful, and happy. And this is natural and normal. However, we also may try to hide the vulnerable and fearful side of ourselves. We may try to hide what we consider our “bones and our filth.” We don’t want people to see this side of ourselves. We want to look happy, successful, fulfilled and satisfied.

Jesus continues to challenge the Pharisees who put on an external show of religious perfection down to the tiniest detail. Inside their hearts and minds are full of pride and hatred and contempt for their fellowmen and women. We can all fall into the same trap and sometimes see ourselves or our behavior on a higher level than others.
 
One of the phrases that seems to have captured our imagination is speaking truth to power. Even in our democratic times we need brave people who are ready to pay the price for that. I look at Jesus as he takes on the powerful men and women of his time, the political and religious leaders, and pray for those who are willing to risk speaking truth to power. I pray for those who abuse their power so they can stop misusing, and for their victims so they find ways to resist.
 
Today Jesus is speaking to us. He realizes that we also are hypocrites at times. And he knows that we want to look good and be successful. These are natural desires and hopes. However, periodically we may need to ask ourselves: Am I being hypocritical? Am I presenting myself as good and holy, when at times I am a hypocrite? Jesus doesn’t expect us to be perfect. However, he desires that we be who we are and not pretend to be holier, happier, or more satisfied than in reality we are. Jesus simply desires that we be authentic. He wants us to be the best we can be and trust that this is enough. Can we believe and trust this? I hope so!
 
Blessings,

Fr. Luis+