Thursday, November 2, 2023

November 05, 2023; 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)


Readings: Malachi 1:14-2:2, 8-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9, 13; Matthew 23:1-12

How Hypocrites are Religious People?

1.    In his book, Sunday Homilies Year A, Mark Link, S.J. writes about the story written by Flannery O’Connor titled “Parker’s back”. I believe this story captures the difficulty of living with self-righteous people. The story takes place in the Deep South, where O.E. Parker and his wife, Sarah Ruth, live in a rundown shack. Sarah Ruth constantly nags her husband about his lack of religion. She also despises the tattoos that decorate his body.

 

2.    One day, in a stumbling effort to improve his relationship with Sarah Ruth, Parker decides to have a large picture of Jesus tattooed on his back. When he returns home and displays his back to Sarah Ruth, she gives no sign of acknowledgment. “Don’t you know who it is?” says Parker. “It’s him! It’s God!” Sarah Ruth snarled belligerently, “God, don’t look like that! He’s a Spirit, and no one’s ever seen his face.” Parker groans, “Aw, it’s just a picture.” “Idolatry!” screams his Sarah Ruth. Then she grabs a blunt instrument and begins beating Parker savagely across the back. Flannery O’Connor concludes her touching story by saying: “Parker sat there and let her beat him until she nearly knocked him senseless and large welts had formed on the face of the tattooed Christ. Then he staggered up and made for the door.” Later, when Sarah Ruth glanced outside, her eyes hardened evermore. There was Parker leaning against a pecan tree, crying like a baby. His tears were not from the savage beating. They were from the fact that Parker now realized there was nothing he could do to please his self-righteous wife.  

 

3.    The story demonstrates the constant confrontation between Jesus and the self-righteous Pharisees. No wonder Jesus called them hypocrites. Jesus could see through their pretentious lives and called them out constantly. He contrasts their lives with that of Nathanael when he says, “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him.” (John 1:47). “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37).

 

4.    The Pharisees were organized Jewish leaders devoted to the literal practice of the Jewish law, the ‘Torah.’ They always took the chair of leadership and authority and loved to be addressed as teachers. They portrayed themselves as law-abiding Jews and loved to be seen as holy men. Since they interpreted the law, they felt that it was obvious to others that they were above the law. Those who did not obey the law were considered, obviously, as sinners who should neither be seen nor heard. They took offense at those who associated with sinners. “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” (Lk. 7:39). Seeing their hearts and knowing the kind of lives they lived, Jesus called them hypocrites. Jesus constantly confronted the Pharisees for their pretentious lives. A hypocrite is someone who pretends to have beliefs or virtues that they don’t actually have. Their actions and moral lives contradict their professed beliefs and teachings.  

 

5.    Jesus warns us against a life of hypocrisy. We must live what we preach and preach what we profess. This refers to parents, teachers, preachers, and secular and religious leaders. Christ recognized the teaching authority of the Pharisees and so asked us to listen to our leaders, spiritual and temporal. If they do not practice what they preach, we are encouraged to take their teaching but abandon their way of life. We must be humble, authentic, honest, and genuine. Many people wear masks that prevent people from knowing who they are. We tell lies to cover up our inadequacies and shortcomings. We pretend to be what we are not. To cap it all, we find fault with others and condemn and judge them for the same weaknesses that we see in ourselves. A little compassion can go a long way to assure others of God’s love for them. If Sarah Ruth had shown compassion, love, mercy, and forgiveness to her husband, Parker, it would have been easy for him to follow Sarah’s God, but she made it impossible for Parker. His little effort to please her was not good enough. Like Christ was never good enough for the Pharisees, Parker was never good enough for his self-righteous wife. 

 

6.    We should be on the watch about the kind of life we live and the kind of example we give others, especially children. Questions: Am I an honest person? Do I practice what I preach? Do I boast and inflate my ego to demonstrate that I am better than who I am? Why am I afraid to tell people who I am? Am I afraid they won’t like me if they know who I am? Let us always remember that God loves us the way we are. If we lie and hide from others, we cannot hide from God. Honesty is still the best policy. Be good, and let goodness be!

Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

 

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