Matthew 23:27-32

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Psalm 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab

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!”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I patiently await the return of your Son in glory. I do not know the day nor the hour, but I will do my best to be watchful and ready. I will work in your vineyard and extend your Kingdom as I can, empowered by your grace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Whitewashed Tombs: In today’s Gospel, Jesus is concluding his seven woes that warn the scribes and Pharisees about the danger of their hypocrisy. Jesus does not hold back. The sixth woe compares the scribes and Pharisees to whitewashed tombs. A headstone or mausoleum can be very beautiful on the outside. But what it contains inside – a corrupted, rotting corpse and eventually just “dead men’s bones” and filth – is the opposite of beautiful. The Pharisees present themselves as holy, righteous, separated from sin, zealous for God, and superior to others. But in truth, they are wicked, falsely self-righteous, evil, mired in sin, zealous for their own good, and greedy. Graveyards were considered sources of uncleanliness in Jewish thought, and the Pharisees have become like graveyards despite their intention to be the pure and separated ones.

2. Murdering the Prophets: The seven woes culminate in Jesus’ most serious warning. He recalls how the ancestors of the Pharisees killed the prophets and messengers of the word of God. Tradition holds that the prophet Isaiah, for example, was murdered by King Manasseh by sawing him in half. The scribes and Pharisees are acting like they respect and honor the prophets of old, but in truth, they are burying the words of the Prophets. The scribes are supposed to be scholars of the Law and experts in God’s word, but they are not really. They think hypocritically that they would not have joined their ancestors in killing the prophets. But here they are plotting to kill and bury Jesus, the eternal Word of God.

3. God Calls You into His Kingdom: In the First Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks once again about how he proclaimed the Gospel of God to them. God has sent his Son to establish his reign in the world he created, and Paul serves God by teaching the Thessalonians how to walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls them into his Kingdom and glory. We have been hearing the seven woes of Jesus pronounced upon the scribes and Pharisees. Paul was a Pharisee and, therefore, prone to the temptation of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is so dangerous because a hypocrite thinks that they are on the path to heaven or even in the Kingdom of heaven, but in reality they are not on the path, not in the Kingdom, and are leading others to stray from the path into the Kingdom of God. They are the blind leading the blind. Paul counted the way he once espoused as rubbish and trash. The true way is faith in Jesus and the power of God’s grace to work within us.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, call me out if I am a hypocrite. I never want to give the false appearance of being righteous and holy if my heart is far from you. Fill me with your grace and transform my way of being and acting.

Living the Word of God: Am I ready to welcome Jesus were he to return at this moment? How would he judge me? What do I need to correct? What do I need to improve in my behavior?