In today’s scripture passage, Jesus speaks a word
of warning. Crowds have gathered around him, “trampling on one
another.” Jesus was in the midst of a standoff with the
Pharisees of his day. As Jesus had just finished a long list of
woes against them, the Pharisees grew fierce in their opposition
and the crowds grew wild, pressing in on Jesus. In the midst of
this chaos, Jesus addresses his disciples saying,
“Be on your guard against the
yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing
concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be
made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the
daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner
rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”
First, Jesus warns his disciples to not be
like the Pharisees. Jesus called them hypocrites. He was not
against them in principle, but in practice. They were not
obeying God’s law as they professed to be doing. Jesus further
warns his disciples to be true to who they say they are. He
tells them that any concealed secrets, any wrong doing on their
part will eventually be brought to light.
Jesus’ warning to the disciples reminds me of
my mother. I don’t know about you and your parents, but my
mother always seemed to know about everything that I did. I
wasn’t an unruly youth, but I wasn’t perfect either. If I
skipped a movie to walk around the mall with my friends or
wasn’t where I was supposed to be, she always knew. On top of
that I am a terrible liar. So any attempt I made was always seen
right through.
As I have gotten older, I am realizing more
and more that the skeletons in our closets will eventually come
out. What is private rarely stays private. Reinhardt is a small
college in a small town. If you haven’t noticed by now, everyone
knows everyone’s business. Gossip spreads like wild fire. It’s
not just a Reinhardt thing; people love to talk about other’s
lives, particularly when they’ve messed up. Whether we know it
or not, people around us know if we are a person that does what
we say; therefore, we should be upright in honest in our
actions. We do not only do this for our own protection; rather,
we are honest people because God expects it.
Jesus’ warning to his disciples is also a
warning to us. Be true to who you say you are. Do what you say.
Be the same person in public that you are in private. Basically,
live a life of integrity. Integrity is defined by “steadfastly
adhering to high moral principles.” Now to be a person of
integrity does not mean that we have to be perfect all the time;
that won’t happen. It does mean that we need to strive for truth
and honor in all that we do.
Prayer: God you know
me. You know the words on my lips and the thoughts in my heart.
Make them one in the same and pleasing to your name. Amen.
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Leigh S. Martin
Reinhardt College Chaplain
"Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait
for the Lord." -Psalm 31:24
