Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, March 23, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Hypocrisy: behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel. So saith Merriam-Webster. Yet Jesus is admitting here that the Pharisees actually do have wisdom. They understand scripture and can teach it beautifully. The people can listen to them and do as they say, as long as they disregard what the pharisees actually do.
I kind of find this interesting, to be honest. In our modern context, the moment someone is called out as a hypocrite, anything and everything he or she has ever said is completely thrown out, even if it was fundamentally true. Lots and lots of people have used this logic to jettison religion wholesale, since those in power in the church have abused it from almost the beginning. And I can’t blame them, honestly. I enjoyed a happily ignorant childhood in the church and adored every minute of it. When I learned the truth about the horrors of our religious history, it was a huge letdown. But somehow I could separate the bad actors from the truth of the faith. Not everyone can.
Maybe Jesus was trying to preempt this a bit here. He saw the incredible corruption and hypocrisy in the Jewish leadership. Maybe he was letting the people know that you can separate true wisdom from the character of the people sharing it, so that when it inevitably happened again, God didn’t get lost in the fallout. I don’t know. It’s just wild speculation. But it’s sort of like the age-old conversation about whether one can separate the artist from the art. I’m not sure where I fall on that one, to be honest. So could I separate the corrupt church leader from the good things they say? It’s worth wrestling with.
Do I think it’s possible for a corrupt and hypocritical faith leader to be able to pass on the words and wisdom of Jesus in a meaningful way?
