Monday, August 25, 2025

Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 1:1-5.8b-10; Matthew 23:13-22)

In today’s gospel Jesus launches a diatribe against the Pharisees.  He accuses them, above all, of being hypocritical -- that is, of saying one thing and doing another. But one should not think that all Pharisees were like this.  In truth, Jesus had friends who were Pharisees and the Pharisaic movement saved Judaism from extinction after Rome destroyed Jerusalem.  Nevertheless, because of the impact of the gospels on Western civilization, the two terms “Pharisees” and “hypocrites” have become virtually synonymous.

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with seven beatitudes designating those who are welcome in the Kingdom of God.  Here he begins his final apocalyptic sermon with seven “woes” indicating those who will be excluded from Paradise.   We hear three of the woes today, two tomorrow, and two on Wednesday at Mass.

Jesus likely intended his diatribe against Judaism – a reformist criticism from a faithful Jew.  However, in Matthew’s gospel it became associated with the scribes and Pharisees because of their reaction against Christians at the time of Matthew’s writing after Jerusalem’s destruction.  The denunciation should also be seen as a warning to Church leaders.  Religious people like us run the danger of using our positive status to exploit others.  True followers of Jesus will realize that transparency and humility are hallmarks of Christian practice.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 2:9-13; Matthew 23:27-32)

When I was a boy, my mother took my sister and myself to the cemetery to visit the graves of our dead father and brother.  She would tell us not to walk on the graves of anyone out of respect for the dead.  When Jesus speaks of “whitewashed tombs” in today’s gospel, he is referring to the Jewish practice of painting the tombs of the dead white.  The purpose of such coloring was to warn the people not to go near those tombs.  The Jewish concern was not respect for the dead, however, but dread of contamination by being in their proximity.

Jesus’ association of the scribes and Pharisees with “whitewashed tombs” constitutes an especially severe criticism.  He is saying that they exhibit an apparent fairness, but the show only masks their spiritual rot.  In other words, Jesus claims, the scribes and Pharisees are hypocrites of a major order.  Their crimes have been detailed throughout the gospel.  They tie excessive burdens on the poor by a narrow interpretation of the law.  They seek the adulation of the masses but lack an inner righteousness.  They persecute him for curing the sick by saying that he is in league with the devil.

We should remember that not all the scribes and Pharisees were evil.  Indeed, the Pharisaical movement saved the Jewish faith after the destruction of the Temple.  Nevertheless, they badgered Jesus and were especially severe in persecuting his followers later in the first century.  More importantly, however, we must take care that we do not become hypocritical like the Pharisees are portrayed in the gospels.  We should strive to be understanding of others’ faults and ready to help them live virtuous lives.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, virgin

(II Thessalonians 1:1-5.11-12; Matthew 23:13-22)

We meet Jesus today in Jerusalem. He has just thrown the money changers out of the Temple and is waiting to encounter the wrath of the religious leaders. In the meantime, he criticizes the Pharisees for their erroneous teaching.

But let us not think that Jesus was historically as irate with the Pharisees as this gospel indicates. The setting reflects the situation of the Church at the time of Matthew’s writing, some fifty years after Jesus died. By then Judaism was reforming itself after the Romans demolished the Temple. Its religious leaders, predominantly Pharisees, had to make distinctions Jews between fully-committed to the Law and synagogue attendees who put their faith in Jesus. They would persecute the latter in a way similar to the Inquisition when the Church punished false Catholics. Matthew shows how Jesus might have defended his followers if he were present in the late first century. We should listen to Jesus’ diatribe against the Pharisees as a critique of religious hypocrisy in general.

Jesus’ first charge is that Pharisees deprive people of access to the Kingdom. In other words he implies that the Jewish leaders actually prevent people from knowing God! Priests who have abused children sexually and thereby have created grave doubts not only in their victims but also in society fall under this weighty condemnation. Then Jesus criticizes the Pharisees’ proselytism which makes fanatics of religious converts. We might find a contemporary example here in a convert from Islam or Buddhism who denies that the possibility of the Holy Spirit working within the hearts of their former religious associates. We know that the Holy Spirit definitely works through the Church and its sacraments, but we cannot deny the possibility of His accomplishing salvation through other means. Finally, Jesus condemns the way Pharisees manipulate the law by drawing meaningless distinctions between gold and Temple or between gift and altar. Teachers who say that the unmarried may have sex as long as it is done “responsibly” or that one can “make up” for missing mass on Sunday by attending mass on a weekday make the same kinds of wrongful distinction as the Pharisees here.

Homilette for Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent

(Isaiah 1:10.16-20; Matthew 23:1-12)

The gospel today should hit church-goers between the eyes. Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees, the religious zealots who give religion a bad name. They are pompous about practicing religion and hardly charitable toward other people. The passage implicitly asks us if we may not be women and men of the Pharisees. Do we like to be seen in church and to gossip about people after Mass? Do we complain intolerantly about other races and religions and turn a blind eye to the serious shortcomings of our own practice of faith? If so, we would be among the biggest of sinners in Jesus’ eyes.

An antidote to Pharisaism is frequent confession. Of course, people who think of themselves as good usually have little felt need of confession. They are like inmates of a prison whom the governor of a large state once visited. When he arrived at the prison, he was besieged with requests for a pardon. Everyone said that there were not guilty of the crime for which they were imprisoned. The governor held an assembly in which he asked if any inmate was justly sent to prison. Only one inmate raised his hand. Then the governor said he was going to pardon that man so that he wouldn’t corrupt all the others.

Most of us sin regularly at least by thoughtlessness and ingratitude. These sins may not be scarlet red but just a sickening pink that should also distress us.

Homilette for Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Memorial of Saint Teresa of Avila, virgin and doctor of the Church

(Luke 11:42-46)

In the gospels Jesus seems to have a running battle with Pharisees. But we should not think that Pharisees are necessarily his enemies. As he has done before and will do again in Luke’s gospel, Jesus in today’s passage is dining at the home of a Pharisee. Obviously, Jesus has some differences of outlook, but he also holds much in common with Pharisees. We may profitably suppose that some of the harsh criticism in the gospels is not so much Jesus’ for the Pharisees of his time but the evangelists’ for Pharisee-like Christians a generation later.

Catholics today, perhaps like some Pharisees of Jesus’ time and Christians of the first century, sometimes pay too much attention to details and too little to the gospel message. Some go to church checking to see if the flowers by the altar are freshly cut or artificial. (In order to prevent cheap imitations Church rubrics have called for fresh flowers by the altar.) Others might gossip about the profanities used by their pastor without realizing that they might be committing a graver sin of detraction.

In today’s gospel Jesus compares the nit-picking Pharisees to “unseen graves.” He means to say that they are already dead because they do not accept the love of God which brings life. St. Teresa of Avila, less somberly but with the same impatience, once prayed, “God save us from sad-faced saints.” Both she and Jesus realize that righteous living is not so much frowning on other people’s sins as turning to God in thanksgiving for our blessings and praying for those in special need of help.

Homilette for Thursday, September 18, 2008

Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Luke 7:36-50)

We may think of Jesus as unfriendly toward all Pharisees, but this is not the case. True, he does chastise some, but he also eats with others. He really has a lot in common with Pharisees. Like them Jesus is a layman and learned in the Law. Also like the Pharisees Jesus teaches in synagogues and exerts every effort to live righteously. Nothing should seem peculiar, therefore, in Jesus’ entering a Pharisee’s home in the gospel today.

Simon, the Pharisee, becomes scandalized when Jesus allows a notoriously sinful woman to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. Although he is too proper to say it out loud, Simon sees Jesus’ indulgence as evidence that he is not a true prophet. A prophet, he thinks, would see into a person’s heart to know whether she or he is worthy. But Jesus shows Simon to be dead wrong with the very criterion that Simon gives of a true prophet. First, he knows the woman’s heart to be repentant and thus receptive of God’s grace. Second, he reads the hypocrisy of Simon’s heart that criticizes too much and loves too little.

Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy as he forgives the woman her sins and enlightens Simon of his. Mercy at times requires fraternal correction as Jesus calls Simon to task for hypocrisy. It also will allow a humble person to express her love as Jesus permits the reformed woman to bathe his feet. We can pray with ever more hope that Jesus will treat us as graciously as he does these two sinners. As church-goers, we are susceptible to the sin of hypocrisy. When we criticize others unjustly, may Christ remind us of the sin that we commit. Then, may he offer us opportunities to show our love for him.

Homilette for Monday, August 25, 2008

Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Matthew 23:13-22)

We meet Jesus is in Jerusalem. He has just cleansed the Temple and is waiting for the wrath of the religious leaders to fall upon him. In the meantime, he criticizes the Pharisees for their erroneous teaching. But we should not think that Jesus was historically as incensed with the Pharisees as today’s gospel indicates. The setting reflects the situation of the Church at the time of Matthew’s writing, perhaps fifty years after Jesus died. By then Judaism was reforming itself after the Romans demolished the Temple. Its religious leaders, predominantly Pharisees, had to draw lines in the sand to distinguish its full-fledged followers from those synagogue attendees who might be Christian at heart. They would persecute these Christians in a way similar to the Inquisition when the Church punished false Catholics. Matthew shows how Jesus might have defended his followers if he were present in the late first century. In any case we might listen to Jesus’ diatribe against the Pharisees as a critique of religious exploitation in general.

Jesus’ first charge is that Pharisees deprive people of access to the Kingdom. In other words the religious leaders actually prevent people from knowing God. Priest and ministers who have extravagant lifestyles or who have abused the faithful physically or mentally fall under this weighty condemnation. Then Jesus criticizes the Pharisees’ proselytism which makes fanatics of religious converts. We might find a contemporary example here in a convert from Islam or Buddhism who denies that the possibility of the Holy Spirit working within the hearts of their former religious associates. We know that the Holy Spirit works definitively through the Church and its sacraments, but we cannot deny the possibility of salvation to people outside the Church. Finally, Jesus condemns the way Pharisees manipulate the law by drawing meaningless distinctions between gold and Temple or between gift and altar. Catholic teachers who say that the unmarried may have sex as long as it is done “responsibly” or that one is free to miss mass on Sunday as long as he or she go once during the week make the same kind of wrongful distinction as the Pharisees here.

Homilette for April 4, 2008

Homilettes for weekdays between March 27 and April 4 follow below. May the fifty deays of Eastertime fill you with joy. Please write me if you have any comments regarding these homilettes. cm

Friday of the Second Week of Easter

(Acts 5:34-42)

It is safe to say that Pharisees are not gospel favorites. Many picked on Jesus because they could not recognize that his healing on the Sabbath marked the dawning of a new age. But the New Testament does recall some Pharisees who helped Christ. Nicodemus in the Gospel of John comes first by night to learn from him and then in daylight to bury him. In the reading form the Acts of the Apostles today the leading Pharisee Gamaliel defends the apostles in front of the Jewish Sanhedrin.

Of course, Gamaliel does not accept Christianity. He only states that as a matter of policy religious tolerance is more judicious than persecution. His reasoning is summarized in the memorable lines: “But if (Christianity) comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” Religious tolerance was mandated by Vatican II with a different logic. The Council taught that the human conscience is inviolable. No state or person has a right to interfere with how an individual worships God.

During Easter-time the Church asks us to recall the experience of the early Church. Every day at Mass this year we read from the Acts of the Apostles. We see how the Church starts as a small community in Jerusalem that spreads throughout the western world. She has little reason to fear other faith traditions. Rather, she has the commission to dialogue with them concerning the experience of reconciliation to God.

Homilette for February 19, 2008

Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent

(Matthew 23:1-12)

The gospel today should hit us church-goers between the eyes. Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees, the religious zealots who give religion a bad name. They are pompous about practicing religion, but are hardly charitable toward other people. The passage implicitly asks us if we may not be women and men of the Pharisees. Do we like to be seen in church but afterwards gossip about people? Do we pray at home but then express intolerance for other races and religions? If so, we would be among the biggest of sinners in Jesus’ book.

Of course, not all people who come to church are Pharisees – far from it. But at times someone calls the rectory demanding an apology for something as small as a mass intention that he had requested not being announced publicly. Certainly priests can be among the greatest of the Pharisees. The scandal over sexual abuse of children and adolescents testifies amply to that. When we find Pharisaical tendencies in our behavior, we must seek God’s assistance in prayer. We should also keep in mind Jesus’ constant teaching about humility. The ones who exalt themselves God will humble while those who act humbly, God will exalt.

Homilette for Friday, October 19, 2007

Friday, XXVIII Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saint John de Brébeuf and Saint Isaac Jogues, priests and martyrs, and their companions, martyrs

(Luke 12:1-7)

At a Catholic boys’ high school a religion teacher used to sit outside the chapel with his grade book. When his students entered for Mass, the teacher apparently checked their names. It wasn’t long before Mass attendance spiked. A few of the cockier students did not stay very long but exited the chapel as soon as they were assured that their teacher had gone. We might say that these students were hypocritical like the Pharisees in the gospel today – that is, people who feign religion. We should note, however, that hypocrisy can run the other way as well. Hypocrites are also people who feign non-religion. This second type of hypocrisy is what Jesus warns his listeners against in the rest of the reading.

In all four gospels there is a sterling example of feigning non-religion. When Jesus is taken into custody, Peter denies that he is his disciple. Most of us will never be in such a situation where we feel our lives threatened if we profess faith in Christ. But we may be tempted to feign non-religion when declaring what we believe will make us appear different from the other folks present. Far from being scarce, such situations occur with frequency in this age of coarseness in entertainment. We should show our faith in God by walking out of erotic movies and turning off profane television. We are not “acting like babies” when we express how such grossness offends our faith-formed sensibilities. On the contrary, we are behaving like mature women and men who act on their convictions.

Homilette for Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Wednesday, XXVIII Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr

(Luke 11:42-46)

It sometimes seems that Jesus had a running battle with Pharisees. He always seems to be criticizing them. So it is important to note that in today’s gospel Jesus is at dinner in the home of a Pharisee as he has been before and will be again in Luke’s gospel. Obviously, Jesus has some differences of outlook, but he also shared much in common with Pharisees. We may profitably suppose that some of the harsh criticism of the gospels is not Jesus’ for the Pharisees of his time but the evangelists’ for Pharisee-like Christians a generation later.

Christians today, including Catholics, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, may pay too much attention to details and too little to the gospel message. Some go to church checking to see if the flowers there are actually freshly cut or artificial. (In order to prevent cheap imitations Church rubrics have called for fresh flowers by the altar.) Others might report the profanities used by a minister of the Church without realizing that they might be committing a graver sin of detraction.

Jesus compares the nit-picking Pharisees to “unseen graves.” He means to say that they are already dead because they do not have the love of God which gives life. Jesus with perfect judgment did not condemn all Pharisees, and we should be that much less given to criticism. Rather, we should make every effort to display the love of God that fills our hearts with the Holy Spirit.

Homilette for Thursday, September 20, 2007

Thursday, XXIV Week of Ordinary Time

(Luke 7)

We may think of Jesus as unfriendly toward all Pharisees, but this is not the case. True, he does chastise some in the gospels, but he also eats with others. He really has a lot in common with Pharisees. Like them Jesus is a layman, learned in the Law, who teaches in synagogues and exerts every effort to live righteously. Nothing should seem peculiar, therefore, in Jesus’ entering a Pharisee’s home in the gospel today.

Simon, the Pharisee, becomes scandalized when Jesus allows a notoriously sinful woman to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. Although he is too proper to say it out loud, Simon sees Jesus’ indulgence as evidence that he is not a true prophet. A prophet, he thinks, would see into a person’s heart to know if she or he is worthy. But Simon is dead wrong. Jesus shows himself to be a prophet on two counts. First, he knows the woman to be repentant and thus receptive of God’s grace. Second, he reads the hypocrisy of Simon’s heart that criticizes too much and loves too little.

Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy as he forgives the woman of her sins and enlightens Simon of his. He is not too proper to call Simon to task for hypocrisy, but he does not indignantly walk away from him. We pray with complete confidence that he will treat us as graciously. As church-goers, we are susceptible to the sin of hypocrisy. When we criticize others unjustly, may Christ remind us of the sin that we commit and may he then offer us opportunities to show our love for him.

Homilett for Tuesday, March 6, `972

Tuesday, Week II

(Matthew 23)

The gospel today should hit church-goers between the eyes. Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees, the religious zealots who give religion a bad name. They are pompous about practicing religion, but are hardly charitable toward other people. The passage implicitly asks us if we may not be women and men of the Pharisees. Do we like to be seen in church but afterwards gossip about people? Do we pray at home but then express intolerance for other races and religions? If so, we would be among the biggest of sinners in Jesus’ book.

Of course, not all people who come to church are Pharisees – far from it. But at times someone calls the rectory demanding an apology for something as small as a mass intention that he had requested not being announced publicly. Certainly priests can be among the greatest of the Pharisees. The scandal over sexual abuse of children and adolescents testifies amply to that. When we find Pharisaical tendencies in our behavior, we must seek God’s assistance in prayer. We should also keep in mind Jesus’ constant teaching about humility. The ones who exalt themselves God will humble while those who act humbly, God will exalt.