Sham Religions

Gospel:  Matthew 23: 27-32

These passages of woe spiral back to the Sermon on the Mount and teachings Jesus provided therein, and the woes will culminate in the final judgment passage of the sheep and the goats.  Today's woe is related to the teaching of Jesus on the wearing of religious finery and garb.  The people of religion are found clad in religious attire of one variety or another to show to the world their affiliations and positions of power and authority within the world of religion.  

The costumes also mask and hide what lies underneath.  While giving the appearance of piety and devotion and attention to the work of religion, the garb whitewashes over a life lived in avoidance of the real and authentic work of religion, the works of mercy and care for others that punctuated the life and teaching of Jesus.  It is, after all, much easier to wear the religious costume than it is to encounter the stranger, the hungry and thirsty, the homeless and naked, the sick and imprisoned.  

In the life of religion we have an ever present choice.  We can continue cultivating shallow soil with the thin veneers of religious garb that flowers and fades quickly.  Or we can do the hard thing and cultivate rich, deep soil of mercy and love that produces long lasting yields.  We can have a religion of whitened tombs that hold dead bones, or we can rise from the tomb with the Lord Jesus and continue his work anew day in and day out.