Today’s Gospel

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Jennie C.

Jesus said: “Woe to you, hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup so that the outside also may be clean. Matt. 23:23-26

Ouch! I am thinking of the image we present to others – the outside of the cup – vs. the reality of our private lives – the inside of the cup. I wonder: How often does our public image mesh up with what we say and do behind closed doors? Not as often as we’d like, I suspect. Wouldn’t it be nice if our public face was our only face?

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6 Responses to Today’s Gospel

  1. Anna says:
    August 25, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    It would. I thought of this just today. Since my husband is on our Colonel’s special staff (that’s really what they call it!) I was asked to work in a leadership capacity within the Brigade-level FRG. I went to the first meeting today, of a small group of us who will all be working together the most. As I sat there, in a pretty dress and heels, makeup flawless, hair behaving, looking for all the world like the type of person who has it all together, I thought of what a mess my sewing room was at home, and had a bit of a laugh to myself at how different things really were than the way they appear.

    • Jennie C. says:
      August 25, 2009 at 9:09 pm

      Sometimes, we see other people, like you, looking all put together and we feel badly about our own lives. It makes us wish we had our acts together, too, like the seemingly perfect person before us. I hear that a lot through this blog, too. Because I tend to write more of the good stuff and ignore the bad, readers think there actually is little bad. Not true, but that’s the face I show. I’d say it’s not intentional, but it is. It’s for the protection of the other parties. :-)

  2. Corinne says:
    August 25, 2009 at 4:17 pm

    Great post – up on my facebook it goes!!

    Thanks

  3. Beckie says:
    August 25, 2009 at 8:07 pm

    Very very true.

  4. Randall says:
    August 25, 2009 at 10:22 pm

    Hmmm, can I get it to fit on my facebook?