Daily Readings - Wed Aug 30 2023

⁹For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.¹⁰Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:¹¹As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,¹²That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.¹³For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Matthew

Chapter 23

²⁷Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.²⁸Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.²⁹Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,³⁰And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.³¹Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.³²Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on the authenticity of our faith and the integrity of our actions. In the first reading from 1 Thessalonians, St. Paul reminds us of the sincerity and dedication with which he and his companions shared the Gospel. They worked tirelessly, not burdening anyone, and exhorted the people to live in a way worthy of God. Paul emphasizes that the Word of God is not merely human words but a divine force that transforms hearts and lives. This passage calls us to remember that our faith is not just about what we say but about how we live. In the Gospel, Jesus confronts the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, likening them to whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled with decay within. He criticizes their outward show of righteousness while their hearts are filled with hypocrisy and injustice. Jesus’ words are a stark reminder that true faith cannot be reduced to external appearances or rituals; it must flow from a heart that is genuinely transformed by God’s grace. The Pharisees’ failure to recognize this truth leads them to perpetuate the same sins as their ancestors, highlighting the danger of spiritual complacency. These readings challenge us to examine our own lives. Are we living with the same sincerity and dedication as St. Paul, allowing God’s Word to truly transform us? Or are we, like the Pharisees, content with outward appearances while neglecting the inner renewal that faith demands? Let us strive to be people of integrity, whose actions and words align with the truth of the Gospel. May we not only hear the Word of God but also allow it to take root in our hearts, bearing fruit in a life of love, justice, and holiness.