Help and Hypocrisy

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to explore how our actions present our love, care and compassion to the people we encounter on our journey.

Psalm 128 Blessing

In the Reading from the Book of Ruth, Boaz Marries Ruth.

* [4:16] Cradled him: the child belongs to Naomi in the sense that he now becomes the redeemer in the family, as stated in 4:14. This tender act by Naomi is not necessarily adoptive and differs from the relationship in Gn 30:3; cf. Nm 11:12. Naomi now has a “boy” to replace her two lost “boys” in 1:5. (Ruth, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 128 declares God blesses with a fertile spouse and abundant children.

* [Psalm 128] A statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent (Ps 128:1). God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children (Ps 128:2–4). The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come (Ps 128:5–6). (Psalms, PSALM 128 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew presents a Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees.

* [23:1–39] The final section of the narrative part of the fifth book of the gospel is a denunciation by Jesus of the scribes and the Pharisees (see note on Mt 3:7). It depends in part on Mark and Q (cf. Mk 12:38–39; Lk 11:37–52; 13:34–35), but in the main it is peculiar to Matthew. (For the reasons against considering this extensive body of sayings-material either as one of the structural discourses of this gospel or as part of the one that follows in Mt 24–25, see note on Mt 19:1–23:39.) While the tradition of a deep opposition between Jesus and the Pharisees is well founded, this speech reflects an opposition that goes beyond that of Jesus’ ministry and must be seen as expressing the bitter conflict between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew at the time when the gospel was composed. The complaint often made that the speech ignores the positive qualities of Pharisaism and of its better representatives is true, but the complaint overlooks the circumstances that gave rise to the invective. Nor is the speech purely anti-Pharisaic. The evangelist discerns in his church many of the same faults that he finds in its opponents and warns his fellow Christians to look to their own conduct and attitudes. (Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB, n.d.)

Edward Morse comments that Our Lord warns his disciples against those who “preach but do not practice.”  It was not that the rules were unimportant. Indeed, Jesus tells us to follow their teaching, but not to follow their bad example.

We reserve special contempt for hypocrisy, in which one merely poses as virtuous or pious without a genuine belief.  But often we simply fail in the execution of what we know to be true or right, whether out of ignorance, weakness, fear, or other infirmity.  In that sense, we are not hypocrites but merely common sinners. 

Love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8).  We can all do with more practice in loving, forgiving, and living upright and holy lives in the manner to which we are called. Ruth and Boaz gave us wonderful positive examples to follow.  Faithfulness, kindness, mercy, and generosity often return to us in blessings beyond our wildest dreams.  Thanks be to God. (Morse, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “God is our father and teacher,” by Jerome (347-420 AD).

"No one should be called teacher or father except God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the Father, because all things are from him. He alone is the teacher, because through him are made all things and through him all things are reconciled to God. But one might ask, 'Is it against this precept when the apostle calls himself the teacher of the Gentiles? Or when, as in colloquial speech widely found in the monasteries of Egypt and Palestine, they call each other Father?' Remember this distinction. It is one thing to be a father or a teacher by nature, another to be so by generosity. For when we call a man father and reserve the honor of his age, we may thereby be failing to honor the Author of our own lives. One is rightly called a teacher only from his association with the true Teacher. I repeat: The fact that we have one God and one Son of God through nature does not prevent others from being understood as sons of God by adoption. Similarly this does not make the terms father and teacher useless or prevent others from being called father."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12 comments on the contrast between Ruth and the scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel! Jesus rebukes them for being more concerned with their prestige than with easing other people’s burdens (Matthew 23:3-7). And he ends with words that continue to speak to us today: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (23:12).

Ruth shows us that pleasing the Lord doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t take a soaring intellect or a superhero’s strength. It just takes trying our best to honor him in prayer, caring for the people around us, and choosing the path of humble service. And when we fall short, it just takes a simple confession of our sins and trust in God’s mercy. It just takes humbling ourselves—and God will exalt us.

“Father, help me to imitate Ruth’s humble trust in you.” (Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today. Naomi kinsman Boaz has a field where Ruth gleaned and they need a man in the family and the goel has given up his right. The ancestry of David includes a Moabite woman. Jesus says the Pharisees are hypocrites looking for recognition and status with elaborate signs of their different religious devotion. Friar Jude comments on the title “Father” and the use of Jewish exaggeration by Jesus to encourage religious leaders to be humble.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Psychologist Hillary McBride who describes the impact of suppressing emotions. Growing up, we might have learned that some feelings were dangerous or untrustworthy, would cause us to be alone, or would create distress in others. We learned ways of expressing feelings that suited those around us, or we learned to defend against the feelings to protect ourselves and others from the pain of them.

But our unfelt feelings, like any other essential bodily processes, do not go away even if we try to repress them. They eventually catch up with us and get our attention somehow, sometimes in the form of disease, mental health issues, illness, burnout, addiction, or pain. To get back to our core self, the wise, creative, steady, compassionate, and connected present-day self, we need to learn to be with our feelings as they happen and to trust that our bodies know what to do with them, as long as our mental and cultural stories do not get in the way.  

McBride offers several journaling prompts to explore our relationship with our emotions: 

Growing up, the feelings I was allowed to feel were …  

I learned that it would be dangerous to feel …  

The feelings that I have learned to label as negative are …  

I am afraid that if I feel ______ (fear, sadness, joy, disgust, excitement, anger, desire), then I might …  

When I was little, I needed to learn that feelings … (Rohr, n.d.)

We ponder the nature of hypocrisy and seek the guidance of the Spirit to help us align our presentation and purpose as a sign of our humility as followers of Jesus.

References

Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 23, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/23?1 

Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12. (n.d.). The Word Among Us. Retrieved August 23, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/?utm_content=buffer5c902&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer 

Morse, E. (2025, August 23). Daily Reflection August 23, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 23, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-23-2025 

Psalms, PSALM 128 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 23, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/128?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Emotional Equilibrium: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 23, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/emotional-equilibrium-weekly-summary/ 

Ruth, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 23, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ruth/4 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Whoever Humbles Oneself Will Be Exalted. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 23, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=aug23 

Preoccupation and Promises

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today warn us that our pride and self focus are not reliable guides to living in the fullness of life promised by Christ.

Peace or Preoccupation

The Reading from the Book of Judges presents the tragedy of Jephthah’s Vow.

* [11:30–40] Jephthah’s rash vow and its tragic consequences reflect a widespread folklore motif, most familiar in the Greek story of Iphigenia and her father, Agamemnon. The sacrifice of children was strictly forbidden by Mosaic law (Lv 18:21; 20:2–5), and when the biblical writers report its occurrence, they usually condemn it in strong terms (2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6; Jer 7:31; 19:5). In this case, however, the narrator simply records the old story, offering no comment on the acceptability of Jephthah’s extreme gesture. The story may have been preserved because it provided an explanation of the custom described in vv. 39–40 according to which Israelite women mourned Jephthah’s daughter annually in a four-day ceremony. (Judges, CHAPTER 11, n.d.)

Psalm 40 is a thanksgiving combined with a lament.

* [Psalm 40] A thanksgiving (Ps 40:2–13) has been combined with a lament (Ps 40:14–17) that appears also in Ps 70. The psalmist describes the rescue in spatial terms—being raised up from the swampy underworld to firm earth where one can praise God (Ps 40:2–4). All who trust God will experience like protection (Ps 40:5–6)! The Psalm stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced (Ps 40:7–11). A prayer for protection concludes (Ps 40:12–17). (Psalms, PSALM 40 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims The Parable of the Wedding Feast.

* [22:1–14] This parable is from Q; see Lk 14:15–24. It has been given many allegorical traits by Matthew, e.g., the burning of the city of the guests who refused the invitation (Mt 22:7), which corresponds to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. It has similarities with the preceding parable of the tenants: the sending of two groups of servants (Mt 22:3, 4), the murder of the servants (Mt 22:6), the punishment of the murderers (Mt 22:7), and the entrance of a new group into a privileged situation of which the others had proved themselves unworthy (Mt 22:8–10). The parable ends with a section that is peculiar to Matthew (Mt 22:11–14), which some take as a distinct parable. Matthew presents the kingdom in its double aspect, already present and something that can be entered here and now (Mt 22:1–10), and something that will be possessed only by those present members who can stand the scrutiny of the final judgment (Mt 22:11–14). The parable is not only a statement of God’s judgment on Israel but a warning to Matthew’s church.

* [22:2] Wedding feast: the Old Testament’s portrayal of final salvation under the image of a banquet (Is 25:6) is taken up also in Mt 8:11; cf. Lk 13:15.

* [22:3–4] Servants…other servants: probably Christian missionaries in both instances; cf. Mt 23:34.

* [22:7] See note on Mt 22:1–14.

* [22:10] Bad and good alike: cf. Mt 13:47.

* [22:11] A wedding garment: the repentance, change of heart and mind, that is the condition for entrance into the kingdom (Mt 3:2; 4:17) must be continued in a life of good deeds (Mt 7:21–23).

* [22:13] Wailing and grinding of teeth: the Christian who lacks the wedding garment of good deeds will suffer the same fate as those Jews who have rejected Jesus; see note on Mt 8:11–12. (Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB, n.d.)

Jay Carney asks how often have we fallen into this “slot machine God” mode, promising great things if only God will “do this one thing” for us?

Matthew’s judgment parable is addressed to Pharisees and other Jewish leaders who have rejected Jesus and his followers. Carrying forward Isaiah’s image of the great eschatological feast, Matthew envisions a rich wedding banquet to which all are invited, including Jesus’ opponents. And yet despite two requests, these invitees react with apathy, preoccupation, and violence, precipitating harsh punishment from the king. The call then goes out much further, including the Gentiles in Matthew’s audience. And yet even here Matthew is quick to remind his listeners that Christian salvation is not a membership club; one has to fulfill the call of baptism in faith and good works. 

As the Psalmist reminds us today, this divine banquet does not necessitate sacrificial oblations or burnt offerings, but the conversion of heart. What in my heart needs to grow or change before I am ready to share in the wedding feast of the Lamb? (Carney, 2025)

Dieterich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany who died for his faith under Hitler's Nazi rule, contrasted "cheap grace" and "costly grace".

"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate... Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life." (Schwager, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “A guest with no wedding garment,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"But since you have already come into the house of the marriage feast, our holy church, as a result of God's generosity, be careful, my friends, lest when the King enters he find fault with some aspect of your heart's clothing. We must consider what comes next with great fear in our hearts. But the king came in to look at the guests and saw there a person not clothed in a wedding garment. What do we think is meant by the wedding garment, dearly beloved? For if we say it is baptism or faith, is there anyone who has entered this marriage feast without them? A person is outside because he has not yet come to believe. What then must we understand by the wedding garment but love? That person enters the marriage feast, but without wearing a wedding garment, who is present in the holy church. He may have faith, but he does not have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because this is what our Creator himself possessed when he came to the marriage feast to join the church to himself. Only God's love brought it about that his only begotten Son united the hearts of his chosen to himself. John says that 'God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for us' (John 3:16)." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 38.9) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 22:1-14 comments that Jesus ends his parable with a warning: “Many are invited, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). God wants everyone to live in his kingdom. Yet the choice is up to us. We entered God’s kingdom at our Baptism, but every day, we need to receive the love, mercy, and grace that will keep our wedding garment clean.

This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. So today, say yes once again to God’s invitation. If you feel unworthy, ask for his forgiveness and let him make you worthy. And worship your great King, who sent his only Son to earth so that you could rejoice and celebrate, both now and for all eternity, at the “wedding day of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:7)!

“Father, I accept your invitation. Clothe me in your grace today!” (Meditation on Matthew 22:1-14, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today. In Judges a warrior of Israel, Jephthah, makes a promise and a burnt offering unfortunately causing the death of his daughter. This is perhaps an etiology to explain the practice of mourning virginity. The custom likely preceded the story. The King invites people, in Matthew’s Gospel, to the great feast. The detail of the destruction of the Temple, after the 70 AD, may influence the narrative. Friar Jude suggests that when the one without the wedding banquet is ejected, perhaps with garments at the door for guests, that if we are called to Christ, we have to be able to change our lives and reject the false values of this world.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explores the emotional energy of anger and how we can allow it to both inform us and move through us. The preoccupations of the Furies were what the later Desert Fathers and Mothers would call “passions” or what we might call addictive emotions. Whenever we recognize an outsized emotional response, we can be pretty certain that we are over-identified with something or our shadow self has just been activated and exposed. If we are ultimately incapable of detaching from an emotion, we are far too attached!

There is much evil and injustice in the world that deserves righteous anger, but a good practice is to watch that emotion a bit—to see where that anger is actually coming from. This will take humility and patience. If it is truly God’s anger, we can also trust God to lead and resolve it to some degree, but when it is mostly our anger—if we are using God as our justification—it will have too much urgency, too much of “me,” too much righteousness, too much impatience, too much need to humiliate the opponent. We almost always start there, but good therapy, a wise friend, or spiritual direction can help us distinguish between our personal anger and God’s pure anger. This might take some time to learn, but, unless we do this, we will not have healthy or helpful emotional responses—the unhealthy ones will have us! This is surely what the Bible was pointing to in using the psychologically astute phrase of “being possessed by a demon”! (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the prudence and patience of the Spirit to accept the call of Christ to join the wedding feast of the Lamb, with proper preparation and attention to our mission.

References

Carney, J. (2025, August 21). Daily Reflection August 21, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-21-2025 

Judges, CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/judges/11?29 

Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22?1 

Meditation on Matthew 22:1-14. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/08/21/1359956/ 

Psalms, PSALM 40 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/40?5 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Releasing Our Passions. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/releasing-our-passions/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). They Would Not Come to the Feast! Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=aug21