CLEANSING THE INSIDE (MT 23:23-26)
Prayer:
O Jesus, send your Holy Spirit, the fire of true repentance.
Imagination:
Picture Jesus teaching inner holiness.
Context:
Jesus continues to confront his opponents about their false teachings which lead many astray. “The cup and the dish” are people who follow the Pharisees. They are not taught to purify their hearts. In Jesus’ time, tombs were whitewashed so people could avoid them and not contract ritual impurity. Inside, however, there were decaying bodies, a symbol of outward religious practice that does not cleanse the heart.
Gospel Text: (Read slowly, possibly aloud.)
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,
and have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity.
But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.
Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean.
Thoughts: (Read all. Ponder those that attract you.)
- A hypocrite is someone who is evil and has no desire to change but wants people to think that he is a good person.
- The Pharisees stress external religious devotions, but have no desire to cleanse their hearts.
- Cleansing thoughts, feelings and actions is the difficult religious task.
- To “plunder” is to take advantage of others.
- To “self-indulge” is to place no restraint on inner desires.
Affections: (When one touches your heart, use your own words.)
- Change me completely, Lord. I give you my permission.
- Send your Spirit of truth so I do not fool myself.
- Jesus, I will not take advantage of others.
- O Lord, help me to restrain my desires.
Resolutions: (Possibly you might want to make your own.)
+ I will ask for light to know all my faults.
+ I will seek to restrain my sinful desires.
Thought for the Day: (To recall your meditation.)
Clean first the inside of the cup, that the outside might also be clean.