The Great Pretender, May 18, 2014

The Great Pretender

Micah 6:6-8, Matthew 23:1-12

May 18, 2014

Grace Presbyterian Church

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

 

Once Upon a Time  Years ago, there was a man who said to the people that the blessing of the Almighty and the Christian confessions would become the pillars of the new government. He assumed the earnestness of a man weighed down by historic responsibility. He handed out pious stories to the press, especially to the church papers. He showed his tattered Bible and declared that he drew the strength for his great work from it as scores of pious people welcomed him as a man sent from God. Indeed, Adolf Hitler was a master of outward religiosity--with no inward reality! [Today in the Word, June 3, 1989].

Hypocrisy  Pretending to believe one thing but act another is called hypocrisy. It is the pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs that one does not practice. The word hypocrisy comes from the Greek and literally means playing a part on the stage in which the actor presents a false appearance of virtue - that is, not being what one claims to be. It refers to an actor who is a pretender, one who wears a mask to cover his true feelings, one who acts outwardly in a way that doesn’t reflect the way he really feels inside.

Of course, hypocrites have been around for thousands of years before and in all the years since. And they existed in Jesus’ time as well. As we know, Jesus didn’t take kindly to such pretense.

Judging For instance, Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” [Matthew 7:1-5]

Scribes and Pharisees In our morning scripture, we find that hypocrisy was the charge made by Jesus against the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees held a prominent place in the religion of the Jews. They had a saying, “Moses received the Law and delivered it to Joshua; and Joshua to the elders; and the elders to the prophets; and the prophets to the men of the Great Synagogue.” [Barclay, Matthew, Vol 2, p. 281]

Scribes  The men of the Great Synagogue were the scribes who spent their lives studying the Law of Moses in depth. As a result, they became the official  interpreters of the Law. Over the years, the scribes broke down the great principles of the Law into thousands upon thousands of tiny rules and regulations.

Pharisees  A group separate from the scribes were the Pharisees. These were men who spent their entire lives trying to follow every minute rule and regulation which the scribes had written. Pharisee were known as “The Separated Ones” since by dedicating their lives to keeping all the regulations they had time for nothing else and had to withdraw from society in order to have enough time to keep every jot and tittle of the Law.

Woe to You!  The problem Jesus saw was that both the scribes and Pharisees professed to keep the Law but didn’t. Outwardly they put on a great show of piety and humility but failed to carry out the Law themselves. Jesus saw that these men, under a mask of elaborate godliness, concealed ungodly feelings and emotions. Jesus lashed out against these men by leveling a series of seven woes against them. Each of them uses very descriptive metaphors and begins “Woe to you!”

For instance, Jesus said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!

You are like white-washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.” Finally Jesus calls them snakes and a brood of vipers. Jesus was really, really furious with them and let them know about his feelings in no uncertain terms.

Woe is both Wrath and Sorrow  The Greek word for “woe” not only includes wrath, it also includes sorrow. It includes both righteous anger as well as the “anger of the heart of love, broken by the stubborn blindness of men. There is not only an air of savage denunciation; there is also an atmosphere of poignant tragedy.” [See Barclay, Matthew commentary, Vol. 2, p. 288]

Spotting Hypocrites Are you acquainted with any hypocrites? It’s likely that you are since each of us here this morning has 20-20 vision in Identifying anyone whose words don’t match their actions. We can spot a phony a mile away. And nowadays it seems there is a national “Hypocrite of the Week” emblazoned across the newspapers and airways and Internet. Politicians who espouse family values but who undermine their own family by immoral actions. Clergy who preach about the importance of high moral character but who are caught in immoral acts. Athletes who put forth an image of the perfect role model for our youth yet are involved in activities that are anything but role model behavior. When we see such people behaving as they do, we shake our heads in disgust and say, “They’re all a bunch of hypocrites!”

A man, returning from a business trip, was met at the airport by his wife. They walked from the gate together and were standing waiting for the baggage to be unloaded. An extremely attractive stewardess walked by. Suddenly, the man came to life. Beaming, he said to the stewardess, "I hope we can fly together again, Miss Jones."

His wife asked, "How come you knew the name of that stewardess?" The man replied smoothly, "Well dear, her name was posted up front in the plane, right under the names of the pilot and co-pilot." To which the wife replied, "Okay, so what were the names of the pilot and co-pilot?" BUSTED! The man’s hypocrisy was uncovered.

 

We’ve Got Hypocrisy All Over Us As we say such a statement with self-righteous indignation, it never occurs to us that we, too, have hypocrisy all over us. Some people say to their children, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Parents tell their children not to smoke and yet continue the habit. They tell their children to be honest, but cheat on their income taxes. And they say “Love your neighbor,” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” yet continue to hurt others with words and actions. Unfortunately, each of us has been afflicted by this malady of hypocrisy at one time or another.  

A rather pompous-looking elder was endeavoring to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. "Why do people call me a Christian?" the man asked. After a moment's pause, one youngster said, "Maybe it's because they don't know you." [Source Unknown].

Hypocrisy and God What we don’t realize is that hypocrisy corrupts our relationship with God. Hypocrisy is a form of deceit and lying. And by our deceit, we are trying to fool God into thinking that we’re someone that we aren’t. We may subconsciously think that the only time God pays any attention to us is when we come to church to pray and sing praises to his name. But God knows our thoughts, words and actions all week long. We can never hide anything from him.

Hypocrisy Poisons Us  Second, hypocrisy poisons us. The more we put on masks to hide our true selves from others, the more we tend to lose our real self.

Nathaniel Hawthorne said, “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”  

Another person noted, “Be who you is, ‘cause if you ain’t who you is, you is who you ain’t.”

 

Hypocrisy and Others  Third, It affects our relationship with others.

An example is the story of the wife who asked her husband, “Why don’t you play golf with Ted anymore?” Her husband replied, “Would you play golf with a man who claimed to follow the rules of golf, but moved his ball out of the rough with his foot when he thought you weren’t watching?” His wife said, “Well, no. I guess I wouldn’t.” Her husband replied, “Well, neither will Ted.”

Witness to Others  Fourth, hypocrisy dilutes our witness to others. Far too often, our actions speak so loudly that people can’t hear what we are saying. Whether we realize it or not, non-Christians watch to see if our actions match our beliefs and if our words match our faith. If they don’t, then they can rightly level a charge of hypocrisy against us. But what they don’t understand is that Christ died for hypocrites just like them and us. And what we sometimes don’t remember is that the church is not a haven for saints, but rather a hospital for sinners.

I love the story of the man who said to a minister, "I never go to church because there are so many hypocrites there." "Oh, don't let that keep you away," replied the pastor with a smile. "There's always room for one more." [Unknown]

Attracted to Authenticity  We are attracted to people who never put up false fronts. My great-grandson doesn’t wear a mask. My granddaughter knows at once how he is feeling - happy, sad, upset, or hungry. But as he grows up, he will learn to wear masks. My Aunt Elsie was one of the few adults that I knew who was completely guileless. You could trust anything she said.

Final Thoughts So how do we deal with our hypocrisy? Perhaps the first step is to admit we are hypocrites. That we often claim to be better and more moral than we actually are. Next we seek God’s forgiveness for perpetuating such moralistic shams. Next, with God’s help, we strive to be more authentic in all our relationships and stop hiding behind masks. Finally, we celebrate the fact that God has given us numerous gifts that enhance the Kingdom of God - acts of kindness and consideration, words of comfort and encouragement. If we practice carrying out these gifts of ministry with sincere humility, always conscious of our shortcomings, then our affliction of hypocrisy will become less and less a barrier in our relationship with God, others and ourselves. Amen.

Micah 6:6-8 NRSV

With what shall I come before the Lord,

   and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,

   with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

   with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

   and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

   and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 23:1-12 NRSV

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘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. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.