Saturday, August 22, 2015

Inside out

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)

Wearing a cross on a necklace can be a great way to remind yourself throughout the day to keep God in your thoughts or actions. But imagine if the newest trend were to wear bigger and bigger cross necklaces to demonstrate your piety. That would be a bit contradictory after a while, wouldn’t it? As people started buying bigger crosses, their sincere reason for wearing them would be lost in a sort of “holiness contest.”

This is the kind of thing that Jesus is pointing out in today’s Gospel. The phylacteries (or tefellin) are two small leather boxes that some Jews still wear today. The boxes contain parchment with key Scripture passages written on them. One box is tied to the top of the head, and one is tied to the inside of the arm so that it will touch the heart. The reason for wearing the tefellin is to help the wearers keep God foremost in their minds and hearts as well as in their actions.

However, as we see in today’s reading, some of the Pharisees started making their tefellin larger and broader in a vain attempt to show more piety than the next guy. They also started wearing their traditional tassels larger and lower for the same reason.

The traditions behind outward signs of devotion are sometimes very valid and holy, but we have to make sure that we aren’t putting our efforts into the external signs instead of making our interior connections deeper.
The best way to guard our hearts and minds is through the everyday, regular practices of prayer, repentance, and service. They may not feel as flashy as brand new crosses around our necks, but that’s okay. As we reach out to Jesus, we’ll find him reaching out to us. And we’ll find ourselves becoming more like him—humble vessels of the Spirit. 

Jesus doesn’t care about what is fastened on your head, arms, or neck. He wants to be fastened in your heart.

“Lord, keep me focused on loving you and serving your people. Make my love for you grow from the inside out so that it shines through everything I say, think, and do.”


from wau.org

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