Gospel according to Matthew 23:27–32
At that time: Jesus said, ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, “If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.” Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.’
‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, “If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.” Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.’
Appearances
The Lord leads us again and again to look into the depths of our hearts. The image of whitewashed tombs is a strong one, but it is also a lesson for us. The problem is not having wounds, weaknesses or sins; we all have them, but as long as we acknowledge them and struggle not to sin, we continue walking towards God. The danger begins when we stop fighting against sin and make peace with it. First we fall; then we justify it: “It’s not that bad”, “That’s just how I am”, “Everyone does it”. Little by little, we become accustomed to living with it and begin to hide it, worried that it might be noticed and that others might see it. That is where hypocrisy begins: we make evil look good on the outside while allowing it to settle within us. Saint Paul warns us: “Therefore, sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires” (Rom 6:12). Because the sin we give a place to eventually wants to occupy the throne. That is why we need the humility to open our wounds to Christ and surrender them to Him: what is acknowledged can be healed; what is hidden becomes entrenched. In marriage too, we can become accustomed to small forms of selfishness, harshness or resentment and end up justifying them. What does Jesus find in my heart when no one sees me? Is there something I am no longer concerned about changing? Jesus does not want us merely to appear clean on the outside; He wants to make our hearts pure.
Applied to Married Life:
Rocio: Arguing about the same thing again…
Ignacio: Well, we know each other and it’s always like this… we get angry, say a few things to each other and then it passes… the “normal arguments” of any marriage.
Rocio: “Normal arguments”? Well, that worries me, because we have normalised it… we have been like this for so long that we have become accustomed to it.
Ignacio: You’re right, we have started making peace with something we know is wrong. We only worry about it when the children, friends or family are at home.
Rocio: Well, you know what I think? We need to acknowledge our wrongdoing, because no one goes to a doctor for a wound they want to hide. I think this is the most dangerous thing. We need to turn to the Lord, we need His grace and we need to begin a journey of conversion in our hearts.
Ignacio: Well, we know each other and it’s always like this… we get angry, say a few things to each other and then it passes… the “normal arguments” of any marriage.
Rocio: “Normal arguments”? Well, that worries me, because we have normalised it… we have been like this for so long that we have become accustomed to it.
Ignacio: You’re right, we have started making peace with something we know is wrong. We only worry about it when the children, friends or family are at home.
Rocio: Well, you know what I think? We need to acknowledge our wrongdoing, because no one goes to a doctor for a wound they want to hide. I think this is the most dangerous thing. We need to turn to the Lord, we need His grace and we need to begin a journey of conversion in our hearts.
Mother,
When we become accustomed to our weaknesses, awaken our hearts and lead us back to Jesus. Blessed are you!