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“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.” Matthew 23:24–26
Imagine if someone were to offer to wash the dishes after dinner
and all they did was to wash the outside of the cups and bowls but
left the inside untouched and then placed them back in the
cupboard. The next time you would go to use them, you would find
them looking good until you took them down and saw the dried liquid
and food inside. This is the image that Jesus uses to describe the
Pharisees. They only cared about the external appearance and
ignored the more important interior of the soul.
Jesus also used the contrasting images of straining out the gnat
and swallowing the camel. This was a reference to the laws in
Leviticus that forbade the Israelites from eating “swarming
creatures,” such as gnats and other bugs, (Leviticus 11:41–45) as
well as the meat of camels (Leviticus 11:4). Saying that the
Pharisees “strain out the gnat and swallow the camel” was a figure
of speech by which Jesus accused the Pharisees of distorting the
smallest details of the law while ignoring the most important ones.
For example, the Pharisees required everyone to strain all liquid
before drinking it, just in case a gnat accidentally was present in
that liquid, but they cared little about true justice when it came
to killing the Son of God. For these reasons, the Pharisees had
become “blind guides” and “hypocrites,” incapable of leading people
to holiness.
The bottom line is that Jesus is telling us that we must truly
become holy, not just appear so. God sees the heart and judges the
heart. The only other person who can see your heart is you.
Therefore, we must also hear this condemnation of the Pharisees so
that we will understand the importance of looking into our own
souls first and foremost. From there, from the holiness within, our
exterior will also radiate the holiness of God.
One of the documents of Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes,
beautifully speaks to us about the conscience: “Conscience is the
most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with
God, Whose voice echoes in his depths” (#16). This “secret core and
sanctuary” within us is what Jesus is most concerned about. Very
often we are tempted to be far more concerned about how we look to
others than how we truly are inside. For example, the person who
lives a sinful double life may go to great lengths to look holy to
others, doing all they can to hide their sin from others. On the
contrary, someone might be living a very holy life but be falsely
accused by another publicly, causing much pain. In the former case,
as long as the person is not found out, they appear at peace. In
the latter case, even though the person is living a good and holy
life, if they are falsely accused, they may be tempted to despair
as their public image is shattered.
What others think and say about us is ultimately out of our control
to a lesser or greater degree. What is within our control is that
which is within us. Our interior life, that secret core, that
sanctuary within where we meet God, must become the focus of our
energies. Exteriorly, it ought not matter that others praise us or
criticize us. What matters is that which is true, and only you and
God can look into your heart to see that truth. The Pharisees
failed to understand this essential truth. They put all their
energy into their public image, neglecting that which was most
important, making them incapable of leading others to God.
Reflect, today, upon your soul. How often do you look inside
yourself? Are you able to be honest with yourself, acknowledging
your sin and being grateful for your virtue? Or are you among those
who are more concerned with how you look to others? Turn your eyes
to the secret sanctuary within because it is there, in that secret
core, that you will meet God, grow in holiness and then radiate
that true holiness within our world. When that happens, God will
also be able to use you to be a true guide to holiness for
others.
Lord of true holiness, You desire to cleanse my soul, and You
invite me to meet You there within. Please give me the grace I need
to care more about my holiness within than the external perceptions
and judgments of others. May I become holy, dear Lord, and learn to
become an instrument of that holiness for others. Jesus, I trust in
You.
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Featured images above: Curses Against the Pharisees By James
Tissot, via Brooklyn Museum
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