Daily Readings - Wed Aug 30 2017

⁹Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.¹¹For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,¹²encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.¹³And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

Matthew

Chapter 23

²⁷"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.²⁸In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.²⁹"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.³⁰And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.³²Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter two profound reflections on faith and authenticity. The first reading from 1 Thessalonians highlights Paul's dedication to his ministry, where he and his companions worked tirelessly to share the Gospel without burdening others. They lived with holiness, justice, and blamelessness, and the Thessalonians embraced the Word of God as divine truth. This passage underscores the sincerity and integrity that should characterize our faith journey. The Gospel from Matthew presents a stark contrast as Jesus criticizes the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. He likened them to whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled with decay within. Jesus condemned their outward displays of piety that hid inner wickedness and hypocrisy. This serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of prioritizing appearance over true faith. Together, these readings invite us to reflect on the authenticity of our faith. Paul's example shows us the value of living with integrity, while Jesus warns against the emptiness of superficial religiosity. In our daily lives, this means ensuring our actions and beliefs align, avoiding the trap of mere outward shows of faith. The moral lesson here is clear: sincerity and authenticity are essential in our relationship with God. Let us strive to live with the kind of integrity that reflects the true depth of our faith, rather than merely adhering to outward appearances.