Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by a Sister Servant of the Holy Spirit (SSpS Sister)
Wednesday 21st Week in Ordinary Time
People say: “By the songs you sing, you reveal your age…” Some old lines come to mind: “Pretend you’re happy when you’re blue…” or “I’m laughing on the outside, crying on the inside…” These lyrics capture the reality of pretending—showing one thing outwardly while hiding another within.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls the Scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites” and likens them to “whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). Hypocrisy is insincerity, a lack of congruence between outward appearance and inward reality.
Jesus, the Truth Personified, advocates honesty, transparency, and sincerity. He inspires and demands that we live authentic lives—accepting both our lights and shadows, acknowledging ourselves as we truly are. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
This requires humility, honesty, and gratitude: recognizing that all we are and have come from God. There is no reason to boast of our achievements or pretend to be better than others. “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
The challenge of the Gospel is to accept ourselves as we truly are—sinners loved by God, in need of His mercy. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Yet God’s love meets us in our weakness: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Happy are we if we take to heart today’s Good News. To live authentically is to let our outward life reflect our inward truth, to walk humbly with God, and to rejoice in His mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
