Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you,
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
There is probably no greater sin for a religious leader than the sin of hypocrisy. No wonder then that our moral sensibilities have been outraged by the abuse crisis that our Church has been challenged with in recent times. To call others to live lives of virtue while we ourselves attempt to live a shadow life that is the very antithesis of what it means to be a person of integrity is the very definition of hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is not only sadly experienced in some religious leaders but it surrounds us daily in the world of politics. Perhaps that is the reason why many rallied around Lt. Col. Alexander Vidman or Ambassador Yovanovitch who refused to be cowed by the perceived safety of covering up what they saw to be wrong and were willing to speak ‘truth to power’ despite the consequences. Isn’t that, my friends, the very definition of integrity?
The Lenten season calls us all to take a long and patient look into our heart of hearts to determine whether we are a person of integrity or if hypocrisy defines who we are. Let us pray for the courage to face that darkness and let the light of the good news empower us to be persons of integrity where hypocrisy has no place.