Gospel

Matthew 23:27-32

Jesus said,

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,

but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.

Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,

but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You build the tombs of the prophets

and adorn the memorials of the righteous,

and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,

we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'

Thus you bear witness against yourselves

that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;

now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”

Reflection

When evil is involved, things don't stay the same, they get worse. The lies get bigger. The hypocrisy grows. And when that happens, there's such a terrifying end to it all. When we look at these men who Jesus has complained about being not good ministers of the temple. Now he actually says what their evil has led to. They, the ministry of the temple, is willing to kill the greatest prophet, the Son of God.

Closing Prayer

Father, help us to be aware of evil in our lives. Hypocrisy. Little lies that we think are not that bad, but then they grow. So help us always to pay attention to who we are and where we have weakness, give us strength to change and to grow, and to enter the light. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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