DAILY HOMILIES #Lip-Service

Hypocrisy is condemning others (making them feel less in public) while committing greater sins. The Pharisees were quick to accuse Jesus and his disciples of not washing their hands. Meanwhile, their hearts were full of corruption and evil. Jesus gave the example of two men who prayed in the temple. One praised himself for all the good he had done, but his prayer did not reach God. The other man, accepting his faults, begged for mercy and went home justified. (Cf. Luke 18:10-14). Instead of pointing fingers (or calling people names), be the change. Instead of washing the dirty linens of others on social media, be a true Christian.

To avoid self-deception, Jesus says, “First, clean the inside of the cup.” In other words, the first step to becoming His true followers is to look honestly at ourselves, acknowledge the dirt within our hearts, and clean them up. The problem is that, like the scribes and Pharisees Jesus condemned, we always try to do the opposite; we clean the outside and abandon the inside.

We waste time when we pay more attention to the outside of the cup than the inside. We worship in vain when we seek the applause of people, but we do not merit such applause. We may assume we are following commandments, but in reality, we are offending God.

So how do we render Pure Worship to God? St. James answers: CHARITY to the orphans, widows, the afflicted, the needy etc. (Corporal Works of Mercy) alongside PURITY; freedom from immorality in our world.

Our Christmas celebration could actually become just a charade, a waste of time and valuable resources if our hearts remain cold and unwelcoming to Jesus Christ – if we remain deep in sin refusing to repent yet pretending to be holier than thou – if by our lips we profess faith but with our actions we worship money. James would tell us: “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” (James 2:18).