Can you define the word, “Hypocrite.”?
Generally hypocrite is a fake man, it is a false appearance.
A Hypocrite is a two-faced person.
A Hypocrite is a person who acts in contradiction to his or her real feelings.
The Wikipedia says” The word hypocrisy comes from the Greek word–‘’hypokrisis’’, which means “jealous”, “play-acting”, “acting out”, “coward” or “dissembling”.
For Greeks ‘’hypokrites’’ was a technical term for a stage actor.
Today we call Hypocrite to those who are fake, who plays the role of someone who is not him. Who is a life actor.
A hypocrite, is a pretender or an actor or actress pretending to have love for you but does not.
Pretending to have care for the Church, for the community, for the country, but does not.
A hypocrite says the, smart, beautiful charming words, nice speeches of love, peace, forgiveness, respect and understanding.
He makes the action of peace, love, and puts on a reliable friends face. He is not really one who he pretends to be. It is all a circus.
Most of us can recognize fake jewelry from a real one. Nobody can fool me with bogus gold. If it looks like gold doesn’t mean it is gold. “Looking like” will fool you.
Some people try to sell you fake gold.
Some try to sell fake smile, fake faith, love, fake kiss like Judah when he betrayed Jesus with a phony kiss.
We judge Judah for what he did, but many of us betray the Lord every day playing and pretending to care, to understand, to reconcile, to forgive to love.
If I had opportunity and time I would not miss any good play in the theaters or on the stage.
It is a lot of fun to watch how actors or actresses change their person, and make you think or believe that he or she is actually somebody ells.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ they were the symbol of religious hypocrisy. They pretended to be in true religious, but it was just an act, a fake. They where playing a character of holy man but it were all fake.
They make others believe that, that is the case.
Matthew 23 Jesus did show Pharisees real face to people how they teach and not practice.
Pharisees preach but they do not practice what they preach.
Pharisees lay burdens on others shoulders, but they do not burden themselves.
Pharisees do all their good deeds to be seen by men and praised by man.
Pharisees love the places of honor at feasts and greetings in the market places and being called rabbi.
Lets read from the bible.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are……..33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town……. 37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ “
Pharisees are long gone, but Today we still have hypocrisy. Jesus still condemns phonies and religious fraud. Jesus gets upset when someone plays a christen character but not being real transformed man.
Let us examine ourselves. Are there still pockets of hypocrisy in your life? Are you acting or saying one thing and doing another? Are you living the truth? Are you just with Jesus in the church or do you take him with you when you leave?
My hope is that you pray to Jesus Christ to help you grow into a better person.
In the meantime, as a priest I want to serve you too. There are some areas in your life and in my life, that need to change and I wish that you will allow me to humbly speak into those areas in my sermons and not be judged.
On some degree you, we, are all are hypocrites.
Admitting it will be the first step to become honest, truthful and open person.
A Real Christian –is a person inside of whom, lives Christ.
