In today’s Gospel Jesus warns against performing “righteous deeds” for human approval. We should not perform our “righteous deeds” or acts of piety with pomp or outward show to call attention to ourselves. Jesus teaches us disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.” Jesus then gives three concrete examples of righteous deeds, almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Jesus warns us against hypocrisy: “When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others.” The Greek word hypokritēs means an actor or dissembler. A hypocrite is a bad actor who makes all the “right moves” and speaks all the right lines but lacks sincerity and depths. A bad actor is one we can tell is acting, a good actor becomes the part.
Jesus warns that such hypocrites perform these righteous deeds to gain human praise and are therefore insincere. While Jesus singles out specifically some Pharisees as hypocrites not all Pharisees were hypocrites, most were righteous and zealous for the things of God. We as Christians should not make the Pharisees scapegoats to avoid looking at our own hypocrisy. In chapter 23 of this Gospel Jesus pronounces a sevenfold woe on all hypocrites:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven before human beings…You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity…You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:13-36).
You might recognize today’s Gospel as the one that is read on Ash Wednesday when we are invited to repent and to trust in God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Each day we are called to continual conversion through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Today we are asked to look at our own hypocrisy: when do I preach but do not practice? When do I preach a God of mercy and compassion but fail to show that mercy and compassion to others? The holy Spirit within our empowers us to speak and pray from the depths of our heart and not just speak the words of a disciples but to become the Body of Christ.
Image: “<div class=’fn’> <big><b>Saint Anastasia giving alms to Saint Chrysogone.</b></big></div>” by Xavier Sigalon is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.