In reading the gospel (Mt 23:1-12) where Jesus is instructing us to follow what the Scribes and Pharisees teach but not what they practice, the reality of "image" might be something that we, as Catholics and Christians in a culture that so seriously tempts our faith, might seriously consider.
It is not unusual for a priest to be confronted by the genuine challenge of faithful men and women who see in the lives of other Catholics a duplicity. On the one hand the weekly and sometimes even daily attendance at Mass, the speaking out strongly on specific issues related to the way we are called to live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ is sometimes put in comparison to the way we live our personal lives. The backstabbing and gossipping that is so prevalent in our society today, clearly causes a challenge to our young people.
It is so evident, especially when speaking with children or teens, that they are caught between the moral and ethical issues that are taught in schools, churches, the Bible and the teachings of the catechism and what they sometimes experience from adults, including their parents and perhaps other older relatives.
The challenge for all of us is not to be Scribes and Pharisees. We cannot preach one thing and then lives our lives in a different way.
And how many readers of this blog will discuss this with a spouse, children or colleagues today? Or is it one of those questions adults find too difficult to handle especially when matters of the catechism are involved?
As a minister in northern Virginia is want to say on his short blurs on radio: not a sermon, just a thought.
