The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
Jesus did not participate in a ritual that amounted to little more than virtue signaling. The original idea behind such a ritual may have been a good one, indicating the acknowledge of the need for cleansing. But from a heartfelt desire to be pure before God it seemed to devolve, first into a merely external practice devoid of devotion, and finally to a badge of honor by which people could indicate their religiosity.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
The outside of the cup and the dish are easy to clean and are the actions likely to elicit praise from others. The inside is more hidden, more difficult to address, but more essential. A dirty exterior may cause surrounding individuals to criticize. But a dirty interior might make one and those with whom one shares his life to be actually sick. Cleaning only the outside is fundamentally dishonest since it seems to promise that the inside would also be clean. And yet people can come to a place where they are only interested in what is external, in what they can easily control, and what is readily visible to others. A large part of the reason for this is likely because the inside of a human heart is much harder to manage than rituals and other externals. Fortunately, Jesus knew a solution that would work in the case of the Pharisee who invited him.
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.
This idea, that giving alms had anything to do with what is within, must have been surprising. It should still be surprising. It seems like a very external action, visible, and within the scope of one's control. But it is precisely because it takes the focus off of oneself and one's performance that it can actually help. It is as though Jesus said that in order to address what is within people would need to stop thinking about themselves and think more about others. It was an action that had the possibility to short-circuit the loop of ego and pride that was filling the Pharisee with plunder and evil.
Jesus knew that it was even possible to make the giving of alms and egotistical performance. But done properly it was a way to store up treasure in heaven. It was actually a way to be free from the need to impress and to be always right. In our day, when so much of our focus is on ourselves and our appearance, it is an escape hatch from the narrow confines of self to a larger world defined by love.
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