READINGS AT MASS
Deut 4:1-2, 6-8
Psalm 15
James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27
Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Theme: CHRISTIAN ACTORS
Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...
In today's Gospel, Jesus called the Scribes and the Pharisees hypocrites and quoting Isaiah the prophet, said of them, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me..." (Is. 29:13). In fact, the word "hypocrite" has no negative connotation in its original Greek form. It simply means "an actor"; as in an actor in a play or a movie. But it is the characteristics of actors that make the word problematic in this case. One thing about an actor is that he is not the part he plays. He is nothing like the person in the movie. He only memorizes a script and goes in to act a part that does not affect his person afterward. So when Jesus refers to the Scribes and the Pharisees as hypocrites, he, in a way, was saying, "You actors! The Scripture is a line you quote, but not a script by which you live". Indeed this is a true description of Christians of today. We are only acting the part.
Beloved in Christ, the Commandments of God have a transformative force. When internalized, it transforms and affects the external behavior of the Christian from within. This transformation makes the good Christian become a "nation of wise people" whose God is closer to them (First Reading).
Unfortunately, we have become a nation full of "Christian actors". People who only appear as Christians until you see them in real life then you realize they are nothing like what they claim to profess. (cf. Second Reading).
PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, may your law take root in our hearts and make us a nation of wise people whose God is not far away. Amen.
May God bless you.
-Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre
Sunday, September 1, 2024.
Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe.
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