For me, the most challenging part of today’s Gospel reading is Jesus’ command to “do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you.” Before Jesus describes the hypocrisy of religious leaders, he makes sure to emphasize and validate their authority. Hypocrisy doesn’t make a person wrong; that is an exceedingly frustrating reality. In fact, the purest form of hypocrisy is calling someone a hypocrite . . . unless, of course, you’re Jesus.
Whenever we are inclined to judge another person’s failures, especially if we are about to do so publicly, we should take a moment to reflect thoughtfully and honestly on the unfathomable depths of our own hypocrisy. All of us have planks protruding from our eyes that we consistently ignore; yet we are remarkably adept at spotting the speck in our neighbor’s eye. Just because someone is a sinner and a hypocrite, does not mean that they are wrong. Sinners can be instruments of God. In fact, learning from sinners and hypocrites is the only option we have.
It is a great challenge to listen and learn from those we want to dismiss as hypocrites. Yet, if we can all strive to look through one another’s hypocrisy and celebrate the goodness and authority in all of us, then our own hypocrisies might begin to subside. We should never ignore injustice when we see it. Rather, we must help one another “cease doing evil; [and] learn to do good.”
