Monday -21st week in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Matthew 23:13-22

The Blind Leading the Blind

Western Wall, Jerusalem

According to Google, 93 million selfies are taken and uploaded every single day. Among adults 18-24, every third photo they take is a selfie!  The average person takes over 450 selfies every year.  Why do some people spend so much time taking selfies?  Is it image?  Are they so intent on impressing others?  Are they so worried about perception?  Think about it!  With selfies, we are the ones who control our image.  We can appear any way we want, whether it’s truthful or fanciful!  We control how others see us!

Is that any different with the Scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel reading?  Jesus calls them ‘blind guides’.  Consumed with pride and greed, they are more concerned with appearances and gold than with the faith of the people.  They maintain control over the Temple by demanding offerings of gold.  For them, image and power are everything!  Their external actions are completely empty of any interior faith in God.

What about us?  Are appearances everything?  Are we at times so concerned with our physical appearance that we forget about our soul?  Do we let pride sometimes get in the way?  Do we allow vanity to cloud our judgment?  The Pharisees and Scribes became blind guides for the people, the blind leading the blind. 

May we never lose sight of what is in our hearts, what is truly important – love of God and love of neighbor!

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