St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 16b; Swearing by the Temple.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their distorted religion) Part 2.  

He had called them names in public, names that caused other prophets to be killed.  He berated them for the things they did, for their so called pious behavior, for their religious demeanor on the outside and hypocritical behavior on the inside.  He saw everything that they did and made comment of it to the people.  And the Pharisees and the Scribes did not like what they heard from this man of low demeanor.

Yet he was the Christ that they could not see.  He was the Messiah.  He was the Chosen One and they still could not see the writing on the wall.  The people heard, the people saw, the people understood.  The people believed and knew that he was the one foretold, the one who would come and bring about change.  But they, the religious leadership, could not believe he was the one.  He called them blind guides: "Who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing."

Is it nothing to swear by the house of God?  Is it not something to make an oath and bind it by the house that the creator of the universe lives?  Does that not have any meaning?  We place our hands on the Bible and swear to tell the truth.  If we place our hands on the Temple of God and swear that we are bound does that not have meaning?

We say that a man's bond is his word but how true are those words today.  How often have those words been reversed or taken aback when convenient and to our benefit.  What is truth?  What is honesty?  What is love of brother, or neighbor of fellow man?  We are all brothers and sisters created by one God, given his one image.  Does that not make us the same?  

Least we forget who we are, we come from a different place.  As beautiful and wonderful as this place we live in, it is not the home we are destined for.  We are two in one.  A two-fer, one flesh, one spirit.  Until we come to realize and understand this we loose the truth of who we are in this world.  We loose the opportunity given us from birth to transform into the spirit that we are to become.  For we are truly spiritual beings in a physical body waiting for the transformation to take place at the given time and place designated by God.  Do not be blinded by the physical.  Open your heart and see the true you from within.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.

St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 13a; The Hypocrites.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 1.   

Christ spoke to the Scribes and the Pharisees in an attempt to get them to understand their plight.  He wants to heal them.  He wants to open their eyes.  He wants to give them the opportunity to turn from their wicked ways.  But they are too far gone.  They are too blind to see.  Their sight, their hearing, and their understanding has been taken away.

So now he scolds them.  He calls them out to the public by a name that all would see.  No one has spoken to them this way.  No one has ridiculed them in the public eye the way that Christ spoke to them.  No one berated them, belittled them, undermined their authority.  Yet Christ did.  He told them:  "But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"  

The Scribes and Pharisees were furious.  They wanted to retaliate.  They were enraged.  For if anyone else called them by this name they would have had them arrested and beaten.  But the people considered Christ a prophet.  They praised him for what he gave to the people.  He brought peace, and joy, and understanding of the true nature of the God who loved them.  They would riot before they allowed anyone to harm him.  But it was not his time to suffer.

What lesson can we learn from the plight of the Scribes and the Pharisees?  Are we hypocrites today, preaching to others the life of piety but living a life of sin?  What is our role today with regards to the responsibility to carry the message of peace and love to others.  

God is our Father.  He created us in his image and likeness, not as physical beings but as spiritual beings.  He is love and his love is for all things that he brought forth to life.  Yet there are other forces in the universe that would turn us away from his love, that would have us do evil.  Our Father gave us the commandments to live by.  He placed them in our hearts and minds to guide our lives.  For those who believe, he gives the spirit of his love to guide us in our daily lives.  He gave us his son to take away our sins that we might be justified.  And he gives us a high priest who sits at his right hand to plead for us in our transgressions.

We are loved.  We are protected.  We are provided for.  We are forgiven.  May our God and Father have mercy on the souls of those who seek his forgiveness.  Amen.  

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.