CLEANSED FROM WITHIN
A
mother and child were walking through the cemetery. As they did so, the
child kept reading the words on the tombstones: in memory of a faithful
husband, loving and diligent mother, obedient and faithful son,
hardworking pastor, selfless public servant, and so on. The child suddenly turned to his mother and asked, “All the dead here are good people. Where are all the bad people buried?”
The child’s question carries with it a loaded challenge. When people
die, we presuppose that all of them are in heaven, enjoying the peace
and serenity of union with God. This is the reason why tombs are always
immaculately white and beautiful, and the words on the tombstones are
always praises and tributes. While there are very good reasons to
suppose so, it is also irresponsible to do so. The most important claim
of Christianity is that God is love. But it is also a Christian claim
that God is justice. This is why the prayers we offer for the dead are
not only prayers of thanksgiving but supplications for forgiveness, purification and mercy as well.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues His “love speech” against the Pharisees — tombstones beautiful on the outside but full of filth within. Jesus reminds
them of their guilt in ignoring the prophets and styling themselves as
saved by the merits of their own good works. Telling people that they
are OK when actually they are not is the real hate speech.
There is a Pharisee in every one of us. We all naturally want an
immaculate tomb and a tribute-paying tombstone. We need to hear and take
to heart the same “love speech” from Jesus as well.
Let us be careful. Justification is from within. Justification is a gift of God bestowed to a rightly ordered life and a life lived in friendship with God and man. Fr. Joel O. Jason
REFLECTION QUESTION: When you are reminded and criticized of your faults, do you immediately label it as a hate speech?
Have mercy on me, God, in Your kindness, and in Your compassion blot out my offense. Amen.
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