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“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret
that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the
darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered
behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.” Luke
12:2–3
Immediately prior to this passage quoted above, Jesus told His
disciples: “Beware of the leaven—that is, the hypocrisy—of the
Pharisees.” This comes after Jesus gives a long and very direct
series of condemnations of these leaders in the previous chapter.
Jesus is quite serious about their destructive actions. So, after
directly confronting them, He then turns to His disciples to warn
them of the consequences of these hypocritical leaders.
A hypocrite is one who pretends to have some moral virtues but, in
truth, is only deceiving himself and attempting to deceive others.
For that reason, Jesus assists His disciples by sharing with them
the fact that all truth will eventually come to light. Thus, every
good deed will eventually be seen by all for its goodness, and
every evil intent, no matter how hidden, will eventually come to
light.
Though the immediate temptation for many in hearing this passage
will be to think about others who they think fall into the sin of
hypocrisy, it may be far more useful to ponder these truths for
oneself. The simple message that Jesus preaches is that we must be
people who are truthful in every way. We must be honest with
ourselves and make sure that we are fully aware of our inner life,
seeing ourselves only in the way that God sees us. This act of
honesty and integrity is one of the best ways by which we prepare
ourselves for eternal life. How sad it would be if we went through
life pretending, on the surface, to be something we were not, only
to have the full truth divulged at our final judgment when it is
too late to change.
Being honest with ourselves can be difficult. It’s normal for us to
want to be good, to want to be holy, and to want others to think
this way about us. For that reason, it is very common for us to put
forth only the best image of ourselves, hiding many other things
that may embarrass us and even humiliate us. And though we do not
have any moral obligation to tell everyone about every sin we
struggle with interiorly, it is morally essential that we face it
ourselves and do so with the grace of God.
One practical way to do this is to ponder the above Scripture
passage. Jesus makes it clear that at some time, in some way,
everything within us in our hearts and minds will come to light.
For some this will happen, by God’s grace, during this life as a
way for them to change. For others, these secrets will only come to
light at their final judgment. The truth, however, is that all that
we are, all that we think, and all that we do in a hidden way will
come to light. And if that frightens you in some way, that is good.
Sometimes we need a holy fear to encourage us to look inward and to
deal with all that we keep hidden from others.
Reflect, today, upon the importance of striving for a life of true
transparency and integrity. The best way to do this is to live
every day as if everything within your heart were visible for all
to see. If that means you need to change in some way so as to be at
peace with what will eventually come to light, then work diligently
on making that change here and now. The opposite of hypocrisy, for
which the Pharisees were firmly condemned, is honesty and
sincerity. Spend time reflecting upon these beautiful virtues and
pray that the Lord will gift you with them so that you can live a
life of true integrity here and now in preparation for that
glorious day of judgment, when all will be “known” and “proclaimed
on the housetops.”
My revealing Lord, You see all things. You know my heart in
every way. Please grace me with the ability to see myself as You
see me and to know my inner heart as You know me. As the deepest
truths of who I am come to light for me to see, I pray that I will
also have the grace to sincerely change so that I may truly glorify
You with my actions and become a source of authentic inspiration to
all. Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: Lawrence W. Ladd, Public domain, via Wikimedia
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