5th November: 23rd Sunday after Pentecost: Micah 3.5–12; Psalm 43; 1 Thessalonians 2.9–13; Matthew 23.1–12

Abstract

‘Do as I say and not as I do.’ Anybody involved in some sort of education will know how that goes. Much of what we pick up as children is by imitation, and perhaps the whole purpose of further education or of growing up quite simply is about emancipating ourselves from imitating others. We learn to ponder how we should act, relying on a backbone, slowly and thoughtfully formed, sometimes painfully, robust yet flexible, capable of preserving some sort of integrity, even when fears creep in. What the Matthean gospel reports about the scribes and Pharisees is, sadly, all too familiar to us when it comes to people of power telling us what to do while acting wildly differently. Partygate anyone? Scandals of abuse in the Church? Yet, these outrageous examples are only the tip of the iceberg. Unlike many Christian visual representations in which evil is monstruous (a black devil, a woman with halfhidden claws—search no further for embedded racism and misogyny), the vast majority of our lives are spent in grey areas, where nuance and subtlety are required for discernment. Think of the parable of the weeds among the wheat (Matthew 13:24–30). Yet, while Jesus’ point here may seem straightforward (‘beware of the hypocrites and stand firm in what I showed you’), our excerpt presents a challenging pitfall for a preacher. Denounce hypocrisy, oppose ‘us’ and ‘them,’ and you end up precisely where Jesus tried to discourage his disciples to venture: on the road to moral superiority. But it is also one of the best reminders: a reminder that there is no better sermon than the one we preach through actions, through our body. Walk the walk, talk the talk. For people whose faith stems in the belief of God’s incarnation, of the Word made flesh, walking the talk seems rather essential. Thus, instead of approaching our passages from Matthew, Paul and even Micah, from the angle of hypocrisy, it might be more fruitful to listen to them from the perspective of integrity or wholeness. As we seek wholeness, one of our recurring practices as Church is confession. Among the various wordings, one might resonate particularly well here: ‘we confess that we have sinned, in thought, word, and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault’. What Jesus points out in the scribes and Pharisees’ behaviour is a disharmony, a discrepancy, a dis-integrity. Their words and deeds (and likely their thoughts) are at odds with each 5th November: 23rd Sunday after Pentecost