Meditation for August 28, 2013 Meditation: Matthew 23:27-32 Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church “You are like whitewashed tombs…” (Matthew 23:27) If Jesus had lived in Vietnam, maybe he would have compared the scribes and Pharisees to the voodoo lily. Native to Asia, it’s a favorite at botanical gardens worldwide, attracting visitors whenever it blooms. The stately plant is a sight to behold, with a flowery spike encircled by a leaf of deep purple. But that’s not the main reason it draws people. They come because they’re fascinated by the contrast between the voodoo lily’s dramatic beauty and the stench it produces as its flowers emerge. “Like dead mice in a plastic bag,” is how a plant specialist in Minnesota described the odor. How can something so pretty smell so bad? The religious authorities to whom Jesus addresses seven “woes” (Matthew 23:13-30) intrigue us in a similar way. How can people who look so spiritual on the outside be so rotten on the inside? Don’t they know how far they’ve strayed from God? Do they really believe they’re blameless, as they strive to appear? These questions are worth pondering. But let’s not just observe the “hypocrites” at a distance, standing in judgment as if they’re an exotic species with whom we have nothing in common. As the Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, the dividing line between good and evil doesn’t pass through parties, groups, or classes of people. “It cuts through the heart of every human being.” Truth is, there’s a little of the scribe and Pharisee in each of us. We, too, can be blind to our sins, allergic to correction, and inclined to justify ourselves. And how often we put our energy into making a good impression and covering up our faults, instead of admitting and fighting them. But blessed be God, who never stops loving us and calling us out of these tombs we have constructed for ourselves! Whenever we turn to him, he gives us the courage to search our hearts, the humility to confess our sins, and the grace to take another step into the light of Christ. As we do, he doesn’t only help us to shed our sins—he makes us into the very “aroma of Christ,” spreading “the odor of the knowledge of him” everywhere we go (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). ”Lord, your plans for me are so much grander than I can imagine! Your love humbles me and makes me strong.” 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Psalm 139:7-12 From "The Word Among Us"
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 11:00:43 +0000
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