My dear brothers and sisters in today’s Gospel we find Jesus confronting the Pharisees for doing many right things but for the wrong reason. For example, they prayed, they fasted, they gave money to the poor; but they did these things for the wrong reason. And what was that wrong reason?
In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus tells his disciples not to pray as the Pharisees do? They like to pray on street corners. And why do they like to pray on street corners? Jesus replies directly, “So that everyone will see them.â€
Jesus continues by telling his disciples not to fast the way the Pharisees do. They put on a sad face when they fast. And why do they put on a sad face? Again, Jesus replies directly, “So everyone will see that they are fasting.â€
Finally, Jesus tells his disciples not to give to the poor the way the Pharisees do. They make a big show of it. And why do they make a big show of it? Once again, Jesus does not pull any punches. He replies directly, “So that people will praise them.†These are terribly strong words coming from the gentle Jesus.
That brings us to the practical question you may be wondering about. It is this: How does this distortion of religion by the Pharisees apply to us in our lives today? It applies in a very important way. It reminds us that we, too, need to guard against turning religion into something God never intended it to be. We can, unwittingly, do something similar to what the Pharisees did.
For example, we can do or say things so much out of habit that they lose their original meaning. Consider just one example. Taking holy water upon entering a church and signing ourselves was originally intended to remind us of our baptism and to be a renewal of it. Unfortunately, however, `we can get so used to performing this act that it loses its beauty and meaning.
The bottom line is this: God does not want us to perform acts and to say prayers mechanically and out of habit. God wants us to do our acts and say our prayers consciously and out of love.
The apostle James refers to this in today’s second reading. There he says it is not enough for us to simply listen to God’s word. We must translate it into acts of love directed to God and our neighbor.
Paul makes the same point in his First Letter to the Corinthians. He writes: I may have all the faith needed to move mountains – but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have … but if I have no love, this does me no good…. It is love, then, that you should strive for.
Let me conclude with a story. It is a good illustration of doing the right thing for the right reason. A mother went into the bedroom of her six-year-old son, Danny, where he was watching TV. She said, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need my shoes shined. I have got to run to the hospital for a few minutes. “I have put the shoes outside on the sidewalk in the backyard. That way if you accidentally spill any polish, it won’t hurt anything: When Danny picked up the first shoe, he noticed something inside it. It was a dollar bill. A note attached to it said, “Thanks. This is for you.” It was signed “Mom.” Later, when Danny’s mother slipped her foot into the first shined shoe, she felt something inside it. She took it out. It was Danny’s dollar bill. A note was attached to it. It read: “Thanks, Mom. But I shined your shoes not for money – but out of love. Danny.