Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time, August 25, 2025

Gospel

Matthew 23:13-22

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.

You do not enter yourselves,

nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You traverse sea and land to make one convert,

and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna

twice as much as yourselves.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,

‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,

but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’

Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,

or the temple that made the gold sacred?

And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,

but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’

You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,

or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;

one who swears by the temple swears by it

and by him who dwells in it;

one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God

and by him who is seated on it.”

Reflection

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls out the scribes and Pharisees, warning them of their hypocrisy. They present themselves as holier-than-thou, the very picture of sacredness, yet their actions betray them. Jesus condemns them with piercing words, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves”. This stood out to me because although they claim to be bringing people to salvation, in reality they are leading them, and themselves, into condemnation. This is shown in Jesus' use of Gehenna, a place known in Jewish tradition as a symbol of God’s judgment, torment, and extreme punishment. How could they claim to guide souls toward God when the very source of salvation stood before them and yet they were too blind to see? Instead of embracing Christ, they sought at every turn to denounce Him and trap Him in His words. It is really tragic and a kind of dramatic irony when you think about how those who thought themselves closest to God were, in fact, standing furthest away. That is what struck me the most in this Gospel because although at the heart of their failure was falseness, I do not think they had any idea. The Pharisees loved the appearance of virtue but lacked sincerity and truth. It made me question how many of us today do not realize our own hypocrisies. Are we living from a place of truth and sincerity, or merely keeping up appearances?