The Achievement of Integrity

The Good News for the Day, August 24, 2022
Wednesday of the 21^st Week of Ordinary Time (427)

The Gospel

Jesus says, “It’s a judgment on you, educated people and religious leaders— Scribes and Pharisees—you phonies!

Whited sepulchers

You are like shiny white mausoleums, which appear so beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of corpses and every kind of rot.

That is the way it is—on the outside you appear so righteous, inside, though, you are full of phoniness and wrong-doing.

It’s a judgment on you, educated people and religious leaders—Pharisees—you phonies!

Monuments For Good People of the Past

You construct celebratory monuments for prophets who tell the truth and embellish the memorials of outstanding good people. And you say, ‘If only we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated in shedding the blood of prophets’.’ That’s the way you tell the truth against – against – yourselves—that you are following after those who murdered the prophets; and now you are finishing up what your ancestors did as standards!” (Matthew 23)

What We Are Talking About

These criticisms of religious leaders – confronting them for their hypocrisy – offers us a guideline. You and I come to realize, as adults that hypocrisy often occurs in business, political, religious and athletes. It seems to appear once people achieve a certain power, fame, or popularity. But it also occurs in you and me. It is a character flaw which seems to develop once we start to realize we have power over others – and that power may be simple friendship. Hypocrisy may develop gradually and we fail to realize that in perhaps some small way I might be living a lie among my friends.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is the definition of a lie. Once we acknowledge that we are not in fact inside what I seem to be saying to others – that is a lie It is doing one thing and deliberately saying verbally or nonverbally to others a different thing. We are actors on a stage seeing what some invisible force is giving us to say that is not really “me.”

Our Own Hypocrisy

Sometimes, you and I are slow to realize that we have become hypocrites. Someone may point it out, and we automatically reject such a charge. You and I will certainly resent any revelation or intervention about an error, an untruth, or some misleading guidance I may be giving to others. Our defenses kick in.

It is such hypocrisy Jesus is talking about. See it from their angle. Jesus tells these people they are hypocrites. You and I know they resent and object to that accusation. So do you and I if someone accuses us of it.

We fight hypocrisy 

We humans are always judging others, whether we like it or not. Sometimes you say so. Other times, you say nothing but believe it in your heart anyway. Sometimes, though, you are not even aware you are judging someone else about their hypocrisy.

What do you do when you are tempted to judge and criticize out loud leadership you and I might notice? Perhaps, the very first step is to ask ourselves if we apply that standard to me? Because you and I always are influencing others, the danger of hypocrisy always looms.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us that we are to judge ourselves by the same standards we use on others. He is warning us not to judge at all! But he is also intimating how to deal with hypocrisy that we see – before we say anything.

Repentance

Jesus is reminding us to repent. Before I judge someone else, repentance calls me to ask pertinent questions:

• Do I practice a thoughtfulness that tries to understand and love, as Jesus did, some hypocrites in front of me? – so that my accusation will prove of some value?
• Do I have a true caring compassion or am I being superior and condemning without respecting God’s love for that person?
• Do I have a trusting faith that the person may be self deceiving? They may have no idea; my critique may cause them to be automatically defensive because of their ignorance?

Repentance calls on you and me to think before we act. And our thought is on the other as someone different from ourselves – not in a bad way. It is a difference that demands respect – and that is a thoughtfulness that we can practice.

When and How to Criticize Hypocrisy

It is with such a sense of self-aware repentance that I might then venture to lovingly criticize leadership (and suffer any consequences that such a speaking out might bring). Such criticism will arise and mean something only after I myself ensure that I am working on my own integrity. Repentance always involves reflecting on my own hypocrisy. It also involves creating, as best I can, a loving community around me.

To Think About

Followers of Jesus spend much of our time wrestling – and it is hard – against our tendency to hypocrisy. If I do not challenge myself, I will continue to infect the world around me. Prayer, reflection, and faith in God fosters a true attitude that admits hypocrisy in myself, and allows me to challenge it in others. Hypocrisy is a common, perhaps universal, human flaw which followers of Jesus challenge. It is clear that the challenge was prominent in both His character and His public life.

In the end your fight against hypocrisy helps you enjoy a special joy of achieving completeness, freedom from self-deceit and a sense of peaceful wholeness.