Self-examination

Scribes, Pharisees, crooked preachers – these are the wicked people to which today’s readings refer.

Yet we walk a dangerous road if we think that these accusations and warnings could never apply to us.

Indeed, as we seek to imitate Christ more perfectly by his grace, we do well to use Scripture as a guide for our self-examination, even verses that may seem primarily directed at historical figures of the distant past.

Perhaps the most fundamental lesson of these readings comes at the very end, from the last verse of today’s Gospel (Mt. 23:23-26):

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye make clean
the outside of the cup and of the platter,
but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Thou blind Pharisee,
cleanse first
that which is within the cup and platter,
that the outside of them may be clean also.

Many people today are very concerned with external appearances. Even among churchgoers, there is often an overriding focus on looking good in the eyes of others, while hiding one’s secret sins. Recent, extreme examples of this include the president of a Kansas congregation who turned out to be a sadistic serial killer and the Virginia man who associated with the strictest of congregations and devotional groups who turned out to be a traitor.

We may not be murderers and traitors, yet if we focus only on looking good while neglecting the pursuit of goodness within ourselves, we are not only fooling others, we are also fooling ourselves: for we cannot fool God. Sooner or later, our façade will crumble, our sin and our foolishness will be revealed, and there will be a heavy price to be paid.

Cleanse first that which is within...

(God, be merciful to me - a sinner.)
* * * * *

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,
and have omitted the weightier matters of the law,
judgment, mercy, and faith:
these ought ye to have done,
and not to leave the other undone.
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat,
and swallow a camel.

Our Lord’s specific examples are generally not found in modern life, but our Lord’s warning is very relevant to our lives as Christians.

On the one hand, those of us who consider ourselves devout and orthodox frequently focus on particular details of faith and morality: these are what we talk about in sermons, discussion groups, blogs, letters to the editor, and even picket lines.

Our Lord’s words warn us to take a step back from time to time, look at the big picture, and honestly consider whether we are overlooking some other area of sinfulness in our lives - the proverbial elephant (or camel) in the living room- and also whether we are neglecting “the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith.”

On the other hand, our Lord adds the words “and not to leave the other undone.” These words speak to those who think that particular acts of morality or immorality don’t matter as long as you are a generally "good" person.

Of course, no amount of generic goodness, sacrificial philanthropy, or rigorous morality can get us into heaven – only the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ does that – but it is important this grace and our faith be manifested in every aspect of our lives: both in “the weightier matters” and in the details - for our own good, the edification of others, and the glory of God.

* * * * *

In the first reading (1 Thes. 2:1-8), St. Paul writes about himself and his ministry, but it is clear that he is contrasting himself with wicked preachers who were also going from church to church in those days.

In our own days we have seen ministers of the Gospel who seem very much like those wicked preachers: greedy people with “a cloak of covetousness,” feel-good preachers more interested in pleasing people than God, or individuals more interested in seeking their own power and glory than in the good of others.

Yet our primary focus in reading this passage should not be on those wicked preachers in the world today, but on ourselves, for each of us in different ways have been entrusted with the Gospel of Christ and have been called to pass it on to others.

By God’s grace, may we one day echo Paul’s words in our own hearts and in our own lives:

For our exhortation was not of deceit,
nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:
But as we were allowed of God
to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak;
not as pleasing men,
but God, which trieth our hearts.

For neither at any time used we flattering words,
as ye know,
nor a cloke of covetousness;
God is witness:

Nor of men sought we glory,
neither of you, nor yet of others,
when we might have been burdensome,
as the apostles of Christ.

But we were gentle among you,
even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
So being affectionately desirous of you,
we were willing to have imparted unto you,
not the gospel of God only,
but also our own souls,
because ye were dear unto us.