Hypocrisy

In Ash Wednesday’s Gospel, Jesus refers to the three traditional Lenten practices which are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.(Mt 6:1-6, 16-18) In that context He tells us not to act like the hypocrites who perform these practices for people to see.

Hypocrisy was a major issue for Jesus.  He saw it in some of the Scribes and Pharisees.  They pretended to be holy, but they weren’t.  They told people what to do, but they didn’t do it themselves. 

I hate to admit it, but sometimes I’m a hypocrite too.

Recently I gave a homily about loving our enemies. But the truth is that I tend to demonize people I don’t agree with…people I see as the enemy...including some church and government officials. So I tell people to love their enemy, but I don’t do it myself. That makes me a hypocrite. I need to go to confession!

What about you?  Can you see how you are hypocritical sometimes?  Can you name a couple  examples? Have you ever confessed that sin?  Lent is a good time for us to face it.

                                                    An Unconventional Life

Jesus said, “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well.” (Mt 5:39)  Commentators tell us that being struck on the right cheek meant that the perpetrator used the back of his hand to strike the victim.  That would have been a huge insult which invariably would have started a fist fight.    

To most people in Jesus’ day, turning the other cheek was laughable.  More committed people might not have laughed, but they certainly would have winced.

Jesus was an unconventional person.  He touched lepers.  He cast out demons.  He raised the dead. He cured the blind and the lame.  He told us to love our enemies.  He turned over the tables in the Temple.  He forgave the soldiers who nailed Him to the cross.  He did these unconventional things out of love.  And conventional people killed Him.

Jesus is our role model.  He wants us to do what He did.

Name some unconventional things you've done out of love.  Name a person you admire, who does unconventional things out of love.  Have you or they suffered because of it?

                                                       Rigidity or Gray Areas

I read a story about a child who was called ‘the attorney general’ by her extended family. After being told that she could only ride her bike in the driveway, she posed several questions. “If I go over the crack between the driveway and the road, does that count?   And if my shadow crosses the line, does that count?” *

The child’s idea was that she needed to rigidly comply with the rule. But her parents idea was to make sure she would be safe.    

For a long time I approached God’s commandments like that little ‘attorney general’. As a result I missed seeing God’s love for me/us as the underpinning of all God’s laws. 

When we see God’s love as the root of the law, then it gets easier to understand that rigidity is not always the goal.  As Pope Francis says: “There has to be room for some ‘gray areas'.” And, of course, that describes Jesus’ approach to the laws He observed…but sometimes didn’t…like healing or feeding people on the Sabbath Day.

Name laws that demand rigid compliance.  I can only think of two.  Can you guess which two I’m thinking of?  When did you understand the idea of gray areas in making choices?  Think of a recent choice you made that fell into a ‘gray area’.

*Sr. Mary McGlone for Celebration: Preaching Resources, 02/12/17  

                                                                    Salt

Jesus said: “You are the salt of the earth.  If salt looses its taste…it is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matthew 5:13)

Listen to this.  In Jesus’ day, salt was added to camel and donkey dung to form fuel patties for their cooking ovens.  The salt gave off sparks which kept the fire burning. When the salt lost its ‘sparkiness’.  It was good for nothing but to be shoveled out onto muddy walkways.  Then the ovens were re-stocked with new fuel patties.  

In this light,  Jesus asks us to be sparks. Sparks that energize faith and keep the fire of love burning within and among us.     

Recently I offered a ‘Culver’s challenge at St. Patrick’s Parish.  The question: Who said, ‘God has cast down the mighty and lifted up the lowly?’  Only Elias, a 12 year old server, knew that it was Mary.  His response buoyed me. It left me thinking that our church is in good hands with young people like Elias.  So he was a spark for me.  

Think of a person who recently sparked your faith or who sparks your faith community. How do you spark the fire of God’s love in others?