‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. ‘Woe to you, blind guides, who say, “Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.” You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, “Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.” How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it. ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. Matthew 23:13-26
It is easy for us to point fingers at those who abuse their power and lead people astray. Yet all of us truly have work to do. Jesus told those who were abusing power to clean the inside so all may be clean. His focus, the weightier matters of the law, he called them, were justice, mercy and faith. And it is true, if you have never seen these things, never had anyone model them for you, it is hard to produce them. Our work, in these challenging days, is to be models of justice, mercy and faith. Plenty of those in the spotlight show us how to consume, be greedy and abusive. We are to be always loving, be always faithful and always seeking justice for the least among us.
Wondrous Creator, who taught the stars to dance
you sing at night to the creatures of the ocean
and call us to justice with the rising of the sun.
We live in a time where selfishness is rampant
where nothing is spared for the glory of leaders
and the starving and refugees are denied food.
Lord, make us your faithful servants today
so we might show there is love in abundance
and mercy and justice are the way to live. Amen.
