Tuesday, July 28

Today’s Readings: Psalm 72; 2 Samuel 7:18-29; Mark 6:53-7:8; Acts 22:12-21; Psalm 48

I was at an event recently where the issue of the conflict in the Middle East was raised. A member of the audience questioned one of the church leaders about what her position was on the issue. It was clear that the questioner had already made her mind up on the issue; her hope was to get the church leader to agree with her position. Anything less than total agreement was unacceptable. As I listened to the exchange between the questioner and the church leader, I found something extremely ironic. While the questioner had a stated goal of pursuing peace in the Middle East, she was so locked into her position that she was perpetuating a form of spiritual violence against those who held a position different from hers. That encounter reminded me how easy it is for us to slip into a place of hypocrisy where we advocate for one set of values yet live our life by another. Of course I’m not the only one who isn’t fond of hypocrisy. Jesus wasn’t a big fan of it either. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is quoted as saying: “These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they are worshipping [God], but they don’t mean it” (Mark 7:7 from The Message). It would be easy for me to single out the questioner at the event and call her as a hypocrite, but I would be wrong to do so – for I believe that everyone (myself included!) has at least one area of our lives where we are hypocritical as well. Today, I would encourage you to spend time examining your own life to see if there might be an area where you are prone to say the right thing without really having your heart in it. Til next time…