Today, we hear the beginning of
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Ephesus was
one of the most important Roman cities in Asia Minor during the time of
Jesus. Many scholars believe that
Paul wrote this letter between the year 61 – 63 while he was imprisoned in
Rome. Paul explains that God had a
secret plan that was devised from the beginning of creation. Now, that plan is being
revealed to us through the revelation we have had through Jesus Christ. God unites us together under
Christ through the sacrifice he made for us.
The unity we have in Christ is
a good thing to think about as we hear the message in the Gospel, about Jesus
rebuking. Again in the Gospel from St Luke,
Jesus is rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy because it
prevents the people from reaching closer union with God. They build memorials for the
prophets that God sends, yet they reject the prophets’ message and cause their
downfall. I always amazes me how in our
society we love putting our heroes on pedestals, but we always love seeing them
fall and ripping them down from their pedestals as well. Pope Francis, in a homily last
year during the Lenten season, had this to say about hypocrisy: “The sign that
(one) is far from the Lord is hypocrisy. The hypocrite does not need the Lord,
he is saved by himself – so he thinks – and he disguises himself as a saint.” It is hard to look at the ways
we are hypocritical, isn’t it, to delude ourselves and to put ourselves up on
pedestals. May we look inside our hearts
today to see the ways that God wants us to change and to be open to
conversion.
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