The Word God Spells

Holy Wednesday

Matthew 26: 14-25
Is 50: 4-9 / Ps 69: 8-10,21-22,31,33-34

…from that time on he looked for an opportunity to betray Him.
(Matthew 26:16)

The lesson in Judas’ betrayal
Should not be difficult to see;
What our country needs is renewal
And the call for integrity.

Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to betray Him. On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and tell him,`The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” And the disciples did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he sat at table with the Twelve; and as they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me, will betray me. The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Is it I, Master?” He said to him, “You have said so.”

Reflection

They say everyone has a price. And that the scale of one’s integrity is measured only by how much a man values his name and lot in life. The tragedy of Judas was that because of his love for money, he never gave much worth to his reputation, and even much less to his exalted position as one of the select Twelve among the disciples of Jesus. We have a glimpse of the man’s nature when they were in the house of Lazarus and Mary poured a jar of expensive nard on the feet of her Master. Judas, true to his greedy nature, complained, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. As treasurer, he used to help himself to the donations (Jn.12:1-8). Perhaps it was also at this point that he finally decided to make a “career shift” when Jesus said, “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” Judas certainly didn’t want to have anything to do with the poor, and was definitely not going to be around for Jesus’ burial. But if he had to leave the group, he might as well make some money out of it. It was clearly his greed and love for money that blinded Judas, and under these circumstances, it was easy for Satan to influence him to proceed with his plan (Jn.13:27).

In our brotherhood’s campaign for honesty in our businesses and professions, and in all government agencies, we strive to drive home the point that integrity cannot be measured or bought, simply because it is priceless, and the future of our country depends on it. Every dishonesty that we commit is an act of betrayal against our Christian beliefs, and will only lead to graver sins of commission or omission. Every lie is self-perpetuating, and must therefore be nipped in the bud. We can never hope to progress as a nation until the majority of our population makes honesty the prime standard in all aspects of our lives, and see integrity as the true wealth of the people.

Disturb us, Lord in our complacency, to make us stand for the truth and fight against all forms of dishonesty in our homes, schools, workplaces and government agencies; help us to live all the Gospel values taught by Your Son, Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Luke 8: 16-18
Ezr 1:1-6 / Ps 126

No one who lights a lamp conceals it in a vessel or puts it under a bed. Rather, he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.
(Luke 8:16)

Let our lamps dispel the darkness,
Live a life of truth and goodness;
Drive away evil where it thrives,
And let God’s Word shine in our lives.

“No one who lights a lamp conceals it in a vessel, or puts it under a bed. Rather, he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.”

Reflection

Some of us are lamps that need to be lighted in order to spread God’s brightness and dispel the darkness of evil. This is just another allegory that our Lord uses in order to enlighten His disciples, similar to His earlier parable of the sower, where some of us must be like fertile soil so that the seed of God’s Word can produce a hundredfold. In the same way, the brighter our lamp, the more people we can lead to Christ.

We are beacons of light whenever we join the cause of fighting for the truth. As God’s lamps, we have no doubt that “nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.” Our Brotherhood’s advocacy for honesty has made inroads into the darkness of corruption in a number of government agencies as well as in the business sector. Many BCBP billboards and streamers in the country’s urban centers declare our stand: “Be Honest even if others are not, even if others will not, even if others cannot.”

Jesus’ message is clear: “To those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.” Unless we fight for honesty and truth, letting the Gospel values shine in our life, we will lose even the veneer of integrity that we appear to possess. Only those who strive to follow His way, spread His truth, and live His life will continue to grow spiritually, gaining more of God’s gifts and graces. Jesus is telling us that we cannot afford to hide our lamp in a vessel, or put it under a bed. We cannot refuse an offer to declare God’s miracle in our life by giving a life testimony, just as we cannot accept bribe money to give a false testimony in court. His light must shine in our life in every opportunity.

Lord, fill our hearts and minds with Your light and truth, and disperse the darkness of sin and deception that we may see the way to You clearly, and discern Your will in our lives. May we radiate your light and truth to others in word and deed. Amen.

Matthew 23: 23-26
1 Thes 2:1-8/Ps 139:1-6

You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, but have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.
(Matthew 23:23)

What lies within is what is real,
And no amount of scheme or stealth
Can hide that time will not reveal,
Lord, give our souls clean bill of health.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, but have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. These things you ought to have done without neglectig the others. 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. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside may also be clean.” (Matthew 23:23-26)

Reflection

Many Christians find it hard to show their true nature by their natural appearance, and resort to hiding behind façades of virtues that often do not match the person within. That’s because it is easier to manage our externals than it is in dealing with our perceived flaws that we would rather prefer hidden.

It is hard to believe that even Mother Teresa, who was recently featured in Time magazine, kept a deep secret of spiritual dryness and psychological pain during most of her lifetime when her accomplishments appeared to be clear manifestations of her closeness to God. For almost 50 years, according to her letters to various confessors, she was “living out a very different spiritual reality privately, an arid landscape from which (God) had disappeared.” In a new book entitled Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light, her letters revealed that for the last almost half-century of her life, God was “neither in her heart nor in the Eucharist.” At one time, the “dryness,” “darkness,” and “torture” she was undergoing almost drove her to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. Being acutely aware of this discrepancy between her inner state and her public demeanor, she wrote that her smile was just “a mask” or “a cloak that covers everything,” and as she told an adviser, “If you were (there), you would have said, ‘What hypocrisy.’” (Time Magazine, August 24, 2007)

And yet, what made Mother Teresa truly a great saint was that despite her spiritual torments, she never neglected the weightier things of the law, judging herself severely, lest she fell into self-righteousness, continuously practicing works of mercy for the poor and the dying, and being faithful to God and her vocation even in her “darkest night of the soul.” She remained clean inside and outside the cup and dish.

Mother Teresa has shown us that human as we are, there will always be doubts, just as there will always be flaws in our character. But as long as we judge our own behaviour (not other people), show mercy to others, and be faithful to Christ come what may, then our outer physical appearance will be as clean as our soul within.

Lord, You have probed me, You know me: You know when I sit and when I stand; You understand my thoughts from afar (Psa.139:1-2), far better than I know myself. Deal with me then as You will, so that my cup and dish will always be clean. Amen.

Matthew 23:13-22
1 Thes 1:2-5.8-10/Ps 149

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
(Matthew 23:13)

No oaths can bind lies and deceits,
As made by ‘scribes and Pharisees’;
When remedied by hypocrites,
The cure is worse than the disease;

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You lock the kingdom of heaven before men; you do not enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in” … “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?” … “So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it; and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.” (Mt. 23:13,16-17,20-22)

Reflection

Hypocrisy is the act of putting up a front of being morally better than what we really are. It is also about condemning another person for an act of which the critic is also guilty of. The word ‘hypocrisy’ comes from the Greek word hypokrisis, which means “play-acting” or “feigning”. It applied to all kinds of public performances (including the art of oratory). Hypokrites (stage actors) were not considered suitable for public office. (Hmm, sounds familiar.) In the 4th Century BC, the great Greek orator, Demosthenes ridiculed his rival Aeschines, who was a successful actor before going into politics, as a hypokrites whose skill at impersonation (acting) made him an untrustworthy politician. In effect, Demosthenes demonstrated his own hypocrisy.

All of us are guilty of being hypocritical in different measures at one time or another. We wear different masks to manage our image in various occasions or circumstances. How often do we realize the difference in persona that we play when we are entertaining important guests or clients and the way we treat our employees or househelp? Or our attitude towards beggars outside the church who beg for a few Pesos (after we have put a hundred Pesos in the offertory collection)?

The antidote for hypocrisy are two words that also begin with the letter h. They are honesty and humility. Jesus condemned the Pharisees because of their propensity for making oaths. A person who has to resort to oath-taking instead of a simple yes or no cannot be counted on to speak honestly under normal circumstances. Jesus does not prohibit taking formal vows and oaths. It is how we casually substitute vows and oaths for honest speech that He tells us to guard against. For it is when we break a vow or oath (wittingly or unwittingly) that we ourselves become vulnerable to the the prince of lies, who is quick to take advantage of the weakened human condition.

Hypocrisy is an offspring of pride, and the other antidote against it is humility. This is the nobility of character wherein one refuses to accept that he is better or more righteous than others. Jesus said, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Mt.23:12) In today’s mass, the homily of the priest finally enlightened me about what our Lord meant when He said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate” (Mt.7:13). It is by making ourselves ‘small’ that we can easily pass through the narrow gate. Those puffed up with hypocrisy and pride will never be able to do so.

Lord, help us to be honest and humble in all our ways, so that we may never have need for masks or be chained by oaths we have to keep. We are all sinners, and have no cause to be proud; mere stewards who must be upright in all our pledges. Amen.