Help and Hypocrisy

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be aware of the "worthiness" of all God’s children to live in the Love and Care of the Creator.

Help for All People

In the Reading from the First Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul describes his Ministry Among Them.

* [2:4] Judged worthy: Paul regards “worthiness” not as grounded in one’s own talent or moral self-righteousness but in God’s discernment of genuinely selfless attitudes and actions (see 2 Cor 10:17–18).

* [2:7] Gentle: many excellent manuscripts read “infants” (nēpioi), but “gentle” (ēpioi) better suits the context here. (1 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 139 is keenly aware of God’s all-knowing gaze.

* [Psalm 139] A hymnic meditation on God’s omnipresence and omniscience. The psalmist is keenly aware of God’s all-knowing gaze (Ps 139:1–6), of God’s presence in every part of the universe (Ps 139:7–12), and of God’s control over the psalmist’s very self (Ps 139:13–16). Summing up Ps 139:1–16, 17–18 express wonder. There is only one place hostile to God’s rule—wicked people. The psalmist prays to be removed from their company (Ps 139:19–24). (Psalms, PSALM 139 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew continues Jesus' denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees.

* [23:23] The Mosaic law ordered tithing of the produce of the land (Lv 27:30; Dt 14:22–23), and the scribal tradition is said here to have extended this law to even the smallest herbs. The practice is criticized not in itself but because it shows the Pharisees’ preoccupation with matters of less importance while they neglect the weightier things of the law.

* [23:24] Cf. Lv 11:41–45 that forbids the eating of any “swarming creature.” The Pharisees’ scrupulosity about minor matters and neglect of greater ones (Mt 23:23) is further brought out by this contrast between straining liquids that might contain a tiny “swarming creature” and yet swallowing the camel. The latter was one of the unclean animals forbidden by the law (Lv 11:4), but it is hardly possible that the scribes and Pharisees are being denounced as guilty of so gross a violation of the food laws. To swallow the camel is only a hyperbolic way of speaking of their neglect of what is important.

* [23:25–26] The ritual washing of utensils for dining (cf. Mk 7:4) is turned into a metaphor illustrating a concern for appearances while inner purity is ignored. The scribes and Pharisees are compared to cups carefully washed on the outside but filthy within. Self-indulgence: the Greek word here translated means lack of self-control, whether in drinking or in sexual conduct. (Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB, n.d.)

Greg Dyche is tempted to sit with Jesus and judge the hypocrites. “Woe to me.” How easy it is to become a Pharisee, a hypocrite.

Even as I am writing this reflection and thinking of examples to discuss, I keep thinking of how others have failed or misjudged or applied justice instead of love. I am using my own judgment to spot the flaws in others. Woe to me indeed. 

I must remember to pray and look in the mirror. I love today’s Psalm 139, “… you know me, Lord.” Why lie to God while praying? Why not be honest? I lie to myself first. I rewrite my own history. I explain away my reasons. I lean on fictional intentions. It’s painful to be transparent. How much easier it is for me to walk away from shame, start new, somewhere else? I do not like being vulnerable, relying on the forgiveness of others. Maybe I should practice forgiving? Maybe I should recall the Bible is talking to me? Maybe I should be honest in my prayers and go to confession a little more often? Maybe I should use shame as a signal that it’s time to “clean the inside of the cup”? (Dyche, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “Neglecting Weighty Matters of Love and Justice,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"Not only among the Jews but among ourselves as well, we find people sinning in these ways. They are swallowing camels. People of this type frequently show off their religion even in the smallest of things. They are rightly called hypocrites for wanting to exploit their religiosity before men but being unwilling to undertake that very faith which God himself has justified. Therefore the imitators of the scribes and Pharisees must be dislodged and sent away from us, lest a woe touches us in the same way it touches them. The scribes could be described as those who valued nothing found in the Scriptures except its plain sense interpreted legalistically. Meanwhile they condemn those who look into the very depths of God himself. Mint and dill and cummin are only spices for food but are not themselves substantial food. What substantive food would mean in conversion would be that which is necessary for the justification of our souls - faith and love - unlike these legalisms, which are more like condiments and flavorings. It is as if a meal might be thought to consist more of condiments and flavorings than the food itself. The seriousness of judgment is neglected while great attention is given to minor matters. Spiritual exercises which in and of themselves are hardly justice are spoken of as justice and compassion and faith. It is lacking in justice to treat these small parts as the whole. When we do not offer to God the observance of all that is necessary for worship, we fail altogether." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 19-20) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 23:23-26 comments that we can do something similar to these scribes and Pharisees. The choices we make about how we express our faith can demonstrate our reverence for the Lord. But we shouldn’t make every choice into a universal, hard-and-fast law that everyone should follow.

Let’s allow room for the people around us to be led by the Lord in how they respond to him. Let’s give them the gift of our patience and graciousness when their choices don’t match ours. Because if we’re holding other people up to our own yardstick, we’re missing the “weightier things of the law.” Which are? Choosing to trust God’s judgment instead of our own and showing his mercy and faithfulness to everyone around us (Matthew 23:23). That’s the heart of the gospel!

“Jesus, help me to keep you at the center of all the little ways I express my faith!” (Meditation on Matthew 23:23-26, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that  Paul speaks about Thessalonika after being beaten in Phillippi. Paul defends himself that their motives were not impure. Paul gives his message initially in synagogue and then in the market and Paul did not seek payment but cared as a nursing mother. He loves them with Mothers and Fathers love. Friar Jude looks at a possible soccer game reaction from “father” and “mother”. We need the mix of mothers and fathers love. The idea is that we need a mix of approaches to be balanced. The Gospel of Matthew continues denunciation of scribes and Pharisees who do silly things and ignore the important things. Friar Jude notes Jesus is using Jewish exaggeration to look inside for blunder and self indulgence, teaching that good or bad comes from the heart.

Fr. Richard Rohr introduces Sikh activist and author Valarie Kaur who recalls an experience of a childhood friendship ending because of a difference in faith. Kaur visits a church where she can confront a Christian about the belief in a God who discriminates against people of other faiths. There, she meets a church organist and recalls saying…

“I just can’t believe that there could be a God who would send me to hell,” I said. There was a pause as she looked at me. I was ready to fight.  

“I can’t either,” she said. She saw my shock and explained. “I think that there are many paths. It just doesn’t make sense otherwise….” Her name was Faye and she was the first Christian I had ever met who did not believe I was going to hell. I would go on to meet many more people like her and learn that there are many ways to be Christian, just as there are many ways to be Sikh. Our traditions are like treasure chests filled with scriptures, songs, and stories—some empower us to cast judgment and others shimmer with the call to love above all…. 

Fifteen years after I thought our friendship was over, Lisa would reach out with an apology. She would still be Christian and I would still be Sikh, but she would have long abandoned the particular theology that had tried to sever us from one another. She had gone on her own journey … and had eventually come back to our friendship. In the end, we learned that love was the way, the truth, and the life. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

We recall our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader and invoke the Spirit to guide us in the Way, Truth, and Life that celebrates all Creation as witness to God.

References

Dyche, G. (2025, August 26). Daily Reflection August 26, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 26, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-26-2025 

Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/23?23 

Meditation on Matthew 23:23-26. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved August 26, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/?utm_content=buffer5c902&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer 

1 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/2?1 

Psalms, PSALM 139 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/139?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC.org. Retrieved August 26, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/overcoming-an-exclusionary-faith/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Neglect Justice, Mercy and Faith. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 26, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=aug26 

Heart for Healing

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to reassess the situations where we have separated ourselves from others and petition the Spirit to guide us to a heart for healing.

Healing Together

The Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews is a warning against unbelief and a reminder of Israel’s Infidelity.

* [3:7–4:13] The author appeals for steadfastness of faith in Jesus, basing his warning on the experience of Israel during the Exodus. In the Old Testament the Exodus had been invoked as a symbol of the return of Israel from the Babylonian exile (Is 42:9; 43:16–21; 51:9–11). In the New Testament the redemption was similarly understood as a new exodus, both in the experience of Jesus himself (Lk 9:31) and in that of his followers (1 Cor 10:1–4). The author cites Ps 95:7–11, a salutary example of hardness of heart, as a warning against the danger of growing weary and giving up the journey. To call God living (Heb 3:12) means that he reveals himself in his works (cf. Jos 3:10; Jer 10:11). The rest (Heb 3:11) into which Israel was to enter was only a foreshadowing of that rest to which Christians are called. They are to remember the example of Israel’s revolt in the desert that cost a whole generation the loss of the promised land (Heb 3:15–19; cf. Nm 14:20–29). In Heb 4:1–11, the symbol of rest is seen in deeper dimension: because the promise to the ancient Hebrews foreshadowed that given to Christians, it is good news; and because the promised land was the place of rest that God provided for his people, it was a share in his own rest, which he enjoyed after he had finished his creative work (Heb 3:3–4; cf. Gn 2:2). The author attempts to read this meaning of God’s rest into Ps 95:7–11 (Heb 3:6–9). The Greek form of the name of Joshua, who led Israel into the promised land, is Jesus (Heb 3:8). The author plays upon the name but stresses the superiority of Jesus, who leads his followers into heavenly rest. Heb 3:12, 13 are meant as a continuation of the warning, for the word of God brings judgment as well as salvation. Some would capitalize the word of God and see it as a personal title of Jesus, comparable to that of Jn 1:1–18. (Hebrews, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 95 is a Call to Worship and Obedience.

* [Psalm 95] Twice the Psalm calls the people to praise and worship God (Ps 95:1–2, 6), the king of all creatures (Ps 95:3–5) and shepherd of the flock (Ps 95:7a, 7b). The last strophe warns the people to be more faithful than were their ancestors in the journey to the promised land (Ps 95:7c–11). This invitation to praise God regularly opens the Church’s official prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours. (Psalms, PSALM 95 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus Cleanses a Leper.

* [1:40] A leper: for the various forms of skin disease, see Lv 13:1–50 and the note on Lv 13:2–4. There are only two instances in the Old Testament in which God is shown to have cured a leper (Nm 12:10–15; 2 Kgs 5:1–14). The law of Moses provided for the ritual purification of a leper. In curing the leper, Jesus assumes that the priests will reinstate the cured man into the religious community. See also note on Lk 5:14. (Mark, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reflection from Angela Maynard Of Creighton University's Online Ministries was not available at publication time.

Don Schwager quotes “Why did Jesus touch the leper,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

And why did [Jesus] touch him, since the law forbade the touching of a leper? He touched him to show that 'all things are clean to the clean' (Titus 1:15). Because the filth that is in one person does not adhere to others, nor does external uncleanness defile the clean of heart. So he touches him in his untouchability, that he might instruct us in humility; that he might teach us that we should despise no one, or abhor them, or regard them as pitiable, because of some wound of their body or some blemish for which they might be called to render an account... So, stretching forth his hand to touch, the leprosy immediately departs. The hand of the Lord is found to have touched not a leper, but a body made clean! Let us consider here, beloved, if there be anyone here that has the taint of leprosy in his soul, or the contamination of guilt in his heart? If he has, instantly adoring God, let him say: 'Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.' (excerpt from FRAGMENTS ON MATTHEW 2.2-3) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Hebrews 3:7-14 comments that today’s passage from Hebrews makes an observation about our lives as Christians. We must “hold . . . firm” by pushing against the tides of temptation and discouragement so that we end up where God wants us to be (Hebrews 3:14). So how do we hold firm?

Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today” (Hebrews 3:13). We all need to be encouraged—each day, if necessary—to persevere in our life with the Lord. So be open to receiving the encouragement of your brothers and sisters in Christ. And be ready to encourage them as well. Walk beside someone who is doubting. Be a friend who listens. Remind them of God’s love. Above all, reassure them that it’s worth swimming against the tide in order to arrive at a place of freedom and peace!

“Lord, soften my heart so that I can hear your voice and stay close to you each day!” (Meditation on Hebrews 3:7-14, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the theme in the Letter to the Hebrews that the Hebrew Testament is a prefiguring of the time of Jesus. The rebellion that prohibited the entry of the ancestors to the Holy Land reappears in the rejection of Jesus. Today is the day to respond to the Lord and enter into his rest. Friar Jude reminds us of Jesus' desire to maintain the messianic secret so as to avoid treatment as a wonderworker.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Sikh activist Valarie Kaur who tells a brief story of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), founder of the Sikh faith.

Guru Nanak’s followers were called Sikhs, seekers or students…. Sikhs believed that people of all castes, genders, faiths, races, and places were equal…. It was a radical experiment that rebelled against the caste hierarchy and feudal order of the era, a mysticism that inspired revolutionary social change…. The ideal archetype in the Sikh tradition became the sant sipahi: the sage warrior. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

We contemplate the healing power of our relationship with Jesus and seek the support of the Spirit as we encounter the people on our journey.

References

Hebrews, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/3?7 

Mark, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/1?40 

Meditation on Hebrews 3:7-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/01/16/1181104/ 

Psalms, PSALM 95 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/95?6 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Guru Nanak: A Sage Warrior. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/guru-nanak-a-sage-warrior/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Lord Jesus Can Make Me Clean. The Lord Jesus Can Make Me Clean. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jan16