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Woe
unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are
like unto whited sepulchers which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead man’s bones Mt23:27 In this particular passage Jesus is referring to religious rulers who, though well dressed and educated, have no love or peace or joy. They are critical and judgmental, arrogant and conceited, opinionated and condescending. They have form but no substance. Not only that but they make converts twice as bad as they are. Outwardly they appear righteous but inwardly they are full of iniquity. These are people who are alive but dead. Religious though they are, they are not spiritual. They judge people by the Law so they have no compassion for the sinner. They think they are right and everybody else is wrong. Because of that there is separation and division. They put burdens on people yet they do not lift a finger to help them. These people could not see the anointing of Jesus and so they crucified him. St. Paul in Ephesians also talks about other people who are alive but dead. He talks about people who are dead in their transgression and sin. These are people who prefer the darkness to the light. He says that some born again believers were like that but were saved by grace through faith. Many however choose the pleasures of sin rather than entering the kingdom of God. The world is full of people who are lost and in darkness. They are people who are only concerned about themselves, about what will give them power, pleasure, and fame. There is no true love or peace or joy. They are consumed by the deeds of the flesh: anger, lust, hatred, jealousy, envy, pride, greed. They are a product of a fallen world and a sin nature. Only by the grace of God do some enter the kingdom. There are a third people in my estimation who are alive but dead. These are people who have been beaten up by the world and lost there sense of hope and lost the power to dream, people who live in existential darkness. They are negative, unhappy, and powerless. They live day by day without glitter or glow. There is little joy or peace or love. They go through the motions of life with little that makes them happy. They are another people who live in alienation from God. Only by living by faith can we overcome the pain and suffering, despair and gloom, boredom and emptiness, the lure of sin and lust and live in love, joy, and peace. Only by asking Jesus into our heart and forsaking the world, finding peace through silence and stillness, joy through creation and fellowship, and love through awareness and grace can we escape the tragedy of a fallen world. We need to be a people who glow. We need to be people who have a presence and an anointing to live in the Light and be a light to the world. Be a people of light. Be a people of love. Be a people of joy. Amen |