Woe to you, hypocrites!

1Thess 2:9-13, Psalm 138, Matthew 23:27-32

In today’s gospel, we come across a very important word used by Jesus. In the synoptic Gospels, he uses it at least 18 times. Such frequency means it was a special concern for Jesus. And in the gospel, we just listened to, He uses it twice. The word is “hypocrite.” He exclaims: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Who is a hypocrite? Why did Jesus refer to the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites? Can we learn anything from this?

The Greek word for “hypocrite” is υποκριτης (hypocritēs) – and in classical Greek (Aristophanes, Xenophon, Plato, Aelian, Lucian, Herodian), this word means one who plays a part on the stage, a stage-player, an actor. Over time, it acquired new meanings and connotations such that Jesus used it in the NT to metaphorically refer to a moral or religious counterfeit, pretender, dissembler – one who pretends to be other than what he is. It means trying to give a good image or impression about oneself different from what a person truly is. Hypocrites are those who are not what they seem. When we pretend we try to deceive ourselves and others but not God who knows the secrets of our hearts. He knows who we truly are. You have searched me and you know me, Lord says the Psalmist (Ps 138).

Also, in Ancient Greek philosophy, we learnt that appearance and reality are two different things. Appearances can be deceptive. Images do not reflect correctly the real substance. That photocopies are different from originals. Christ tells us not to care so much how we appear to others as for the quality of love in our heart. Love must be true and genuine. Our dedication and commitment to love of neighbor must be true and genuine and not under any pretext. That is, not “whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth.” The Apostle Paul reminds us to strive to lead a life worthy of God, putting aside all forms of hypocrisy and inauthentic living.

When we come to the Lord, we cannot come masking ourselves, we need to unmask ourselves, we need to show Him ourselves and in humility ask Him to heal our crookedness and sinfulness. That is the story of Saint Monica, whose memorial we celebrate today. She was not ashamed to present to God the true identity and waywardness of his son, Augustine, praying day and night for his conversion.