Observation: Jesus and the Pharisees are at it again. The Pharisees accuse Jesus and his disciples of being ritually impure by not washing their hands before they eat (Remember, they had no concept of germs, so this was strictly a matter of observing/not observing a religious ritual). But Jesus turns their self-righteous attitude right back on them, saying their shirking of family duties in order to become religious students is also a violation of the law: the fourth commandment, to be exact. Jesus repeats his most often leveled charge at these religious scholars: hyporcisy.
Application: The origin of the word "hypocrite" in Greek means, "actor." Actors often wore masks on stage in ancient Greece. In the same way, as Jesus points out, the outward face or actions of a hypocrite does not match their inward attitudes.
Our culture puts a very high value on authenticity: we like people who do what they say, and say what they do. "Hypocrite" is a pretty serious charge to level at someone, just as it was in Jesus' time. We hate the idea that someone will think we're a poser, an impostor, a fraud.
I have struggled with this a lot in my life. I want to sound smart, informed, thoughtful, astute. I want to do, say, and think the right things, and if I can't, sometimes I don't do or say anything.
Ironically, considering how often Jesus called out hypocrisy, that seems to be a very common criticism of religious communities. "They're full of hypocrites." Maybe the perception is we say we believe in God and follow Jesus, but we don't act like it. We aren't great at welcoming strangers, turning the other cheek, selling all our possessions and feeding the hungry, like Jesus said to. So we may as well not try. Right?
Well, here's the thing about Jesus and hypocrites: he actually hung out with a lot of them. He called tax collectors to follow him. He had mercy on a woman caught in adultery. He called Peter, who later denied him. I mean, he hung out with Judas for like, 3 years! Jesus' problem wasn't with hypocrites, per se...his frustration was with hypocrites who call out other hypocrites on their hypocrisy, without recognizing their own. The whole splinter-eye/log-eye thing.
The fear of being inauthentic, being found to be less than what we aspire to, is paralyzing. It kills dreams and visions. It tempts us to settle for a mediocre version of ourselves that is worthy of neither criticism nor praise. It incurs no risk, and it accomplishes nothing of what God would have us do.
If, on the other hand, we actually commit to following Jesus--to the crazy proposition that if we hang out with his people, learn from him, and practice giving of ourselves for the sake of the world, maybe our lives can look a tiny bit more like his--we will inevitably look dumb at some point. Full disclosure, if we try, we will not always succeed. Also, our progress will be indirect, halting, two-steps-forward, one-step-back. And we will be called hypocrites. And we'll feel like it sometimes. All this is true. But through all of that, we get to be with Jesus. We get glimpses--even the tiniest glimmers--of the world, and ourselves, as God would have us be. So here's to trying.
Prayer: God, help me try today. Help me not criticize others who try, and who fall short in different ways than I do. Help me try in a way that makes others want to try this thing called Christian Discipleship for themselves. Amen.
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