No Hiding Place

Jesus came down hard on hypocrisy. And when He did, the condemnation was always against His own people — the good, Church-going, law-abiding people. He condemned them for “show-boating” when they gave alms. “Hyprocrites looking for applause,” He said of them. He condemned them for show-boating when they prayed. They go to Church and pray “in order to be noticed,” He said. He condemned the pillars of the Temple who paid only “lip service” to God and offered Him only empty reverence, so devoted were they to their own man-made rules for worship and right living. “Woe to you, you frauds,” He said to them. Literally, over and over again, He called them frauds! He called them “blind fools” when He condemned them for their nit-picking and haggling over legalistic trivia.

Today’s Gospel Lesson gives us one more example of the Pharisees’ duplicity as they try to “butter up” Jesus with smooth talk, all the while intending to trap Him into making a political…