Have
you ever heard of a doctor who commits murder? How can someone, who had made an
oath to preserve and protect life, do otherwise? Or a lawyer who exerts every
effort to free his guilty client? We seem to be understanding and permissive of
them. But not Jesus.
In today’s Gospel (Matthew 23:13-22), He exposes the seven
“woes” against the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. He does not let them
get away with their hypocrisy.
The first three woes are, namely, how they cause people to miss the Kingdom; how they convert people but make
them worse than before; and their being blind guides by stressing focus on
offerings and things rather than on what can really save them. The three woes
were meant to let the Pharisees know that Jesus knows what they were really
doing.
The words of Jesus were strong. He earned the ire of the teachers and
Pharisees, which later turned into a plot to kill Him. Jesus hated hypocrites.
Truth was one of His main message. The Pharisees wittingly or unwittingly were
committing a lot of deceptions. The Jews were being damaged both personally and
spiritually. Jesus could not endure that. He had to speak the Word of God. He
had to speak the Truth!
Truth hurts, as they say, but it also frees and heals. The more we hide
the truth, the more painful it is when revealed. Jesus was willing to suffer
the consequences of proclaiming the truth to the teachers and the Pharisees.
I also feel this way whenever I stand before a congregation to deliver a
homily. Homilies are supposed to share the truth about God and His message, and
there are times when the message is unpopular and painful. We need to tell the
people that it is not OK to curse, lie, steal, hurt, be unforgiving, have
premarital and extramarital affairs, etc. We know that it will hurt them
initially, but if they listen to and follow the truth, it will set them free
and eventually heal them. If we really care for them, we must take courage to
tell them the truth. Jesus cared for the teachers and Pharisees, too. Jesus
will always proclaim the truth. He is the Truth!
REFLECTION
QUESTION: How courageous are you in telling the truth even if it would hurt you
or your listener?
