Today's Gospel

August 27, 2024


The Masks We Wear

3 min


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Gospel

Mt 23:23-26


“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.”

Readings are from Dynamic Catholic’s New Testament Bible: RSV Catholic Edition

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Transcript


The Masks We Wear

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant. Each day, we read the Gospel of the Day, and we're looking for a word or a phrase or an idea to anchor our day in the genius of Jesus' teachings. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Matthew 23: 23-26. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate. But inside, they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees. First, cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean."

What jumps out at you today? Is there a word or a phrase or an idea? The idea that jumps out at me is that, again, all the way back through human history, there has been this obsession with the way we present to the world. The masks we wear, the ways we pretend, the persona we present. And we spend so much time and effort and energy maintaining this persona. And that time and effort and energy should be placed on becoming the person God is calling us to be. And this is, again, why Jesus is calling out the Pharisees and scribes today, calling them hypocrites because they're focused on all the outside stuff. And he's saying on the inside of them, they are rotting. And so today, an opportunity for us to reflect upon how much time, effort, energy do we spend on the outside trying to please people and how much time, effort, energy do we spend on the inside, developing the interior life, developing the character and values and virtues that God is inviting us to live and becoming the person God created us to be. Have a great day, and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

August 27, 2024