Political Leaders - Beware!

𝐀𝐔𝐆. 𝟐𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀 

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝟏 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝟐:𝟗-𝟏𝟑

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟑𝟗:𝟕-𝟏𝟐 “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞, 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟐𝟑:𝟐𝟕-𝟑𝟐

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “… 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍…” (𝒗.28) 

𝐇𝐘𝐏𝐎𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐒, 𝐁𝐄𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄!

         In one of the New York Times supplements that was distributed together with the  Manila Bulletin some years back, there was a story about Pei-Shen Qian, a 73-year old Chinese immigrant who settled in Queens, New York sometime in 1981. The NY Times reported that he was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for producing numerous paintings and drawings that carried the signatures of artistic giants like Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell among others that were being sold by an art dealer as authentic art pieces.

         The fraudulent scheme collapsed when several buyers began questioning the authenticity of the paintings and the FBI was called in when buyers demanded a reimbursement of their money.

         Presented with a faithful reproduction of expensive art pieces the question you might ask yourself is how can you tell what is real or fake, genuine or counterfeit? Because the buyers in this case trusted the credibility and integrity of the art dealers, they threw caution to the wind and did not as a rule brought in an expert to authenticate the paintings.

         In my younger days when I used to smoke no less than three packs of imported “blue seal” cigarettes which was the status symbol at the time, I somehow developed the ability to spot the difference between a genuine imported Marlboro cigarette from a fake. I remember that even blue denims were being faked in those days.

         Today, we still are witnesses to fakes and counterfeits especially in the political milieu where we are treated to some elected officials who fit into the mold of the Pharisees whom Jesus had described in this gospel passage as hypocrites. Now that the improper and unethical use of the National Expenditure Program of the government has been made public, it comes as no surprise how many of our legislators could afford suits made by well known signature brands like “Ferragamo, Boss, Armani, and Versace.”

         These officials probably thought that wearing these signature brands would make them credible and would raise the level of their integrity, but outward appearances can be deceptive. In fact, the prophet Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth  (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏:𝟑-𝟒).

         In today’s gospel, Jesus used strong language to warn the religious leaders about the vanity of appearance and pretense. In his time, Palestine tombs were often placed by the roadside. The tombs were painted white which made them glisten in the noonday sun, especially around the time of the great feasts, so that the people would not accidentally touch them and make them impure.

         Jesus had warned that what truly corrupts a person is not ritual impurity but the impurity of sinful attitudes – such as 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘺, 𝘨𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘺, 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩, 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩 – that lead to sinful behavior. The scribes and Pharisees were intensely religious in their outward observances, but these did not jibe with the inner disposition of their hearts. They not only neglected the poor and the weak, but they were intolerant towards anyone who challenged their idea of religion.

         Jesus criticized the religious leaders for the incongruity in the way they urged the Jews to follow the law that they themselves ignored and abused. Outwardly, they impressed upon the people their admiration for the prophets by building their tombs but the truth was that they ignored Word of God that the prophets proclaimed. They refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah because their hearts were hardened to the truth voice of God.

         But this contradiction in the way the Pharisees display their external religiosity which was not compatible with their inner spirituality was not only akin in the time of Jesus because even today we are confronted with religious leaders who live dichotomous lives, and we see them in the church or spiritual community for that matter.

         In the same way, those among us and I will not hesitate to point to many of our political leaders who have decided to pursue their lives outside the ambit of God’s grace can be likened to the Pharisees because any action that they take sans prayerful discernment and which runs counter to the Will of God is in truth a rejection of God.

         Such hypocrisy can still happen today and as Shakespeare said once that a man may smile and smile and remain a villain. In similar fashion, a man in church can also walk with his head bowed and walk in a reverential manner with his hands folded in humble fashion and yet look with contempt at others whom he regards as sinners.

         Barclay also wrote in one of his commentaries that there is nothing harder than for a good man not to know that he is good, and once he knows that he is good, his goodness is gone, however he may appear to men from the outside.

         The underlying message in today’s gospel is that only the humble of heart can receive from God the gift of true wisdom and understanding, forgiveness and healing. Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit is always ready to renew our minds and hearts and to instruct us God's way of love and holiness. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘈𝘶𝘨. 27, 2025)