Honest Lent: Whitewashed Tombs

Whitewashed tomb. Image source.

Today for Honest Lent, let's look at Matthew 23. This is one of my favorite chapters in the bible. I recommend reading the whole thing.

Seriously go read the whole thing.

I love this because it's about religious leaders who are so sure that they have the "correct" beliefs. They can back it up with Scripture and logic- but they have no compassion. They don't care how their beliefs affect other people.

They think obedience to the bible is the most important thing. They don't realize that love for people is the most important thing. They ignore the clear teaching of Scripture, "The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath."

These are the politicians who don't think everyone deserves health care. I guess if you have a child born with a disability, you should have to live in poverty. They talk all kinds of talk about "personal responsibility." They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

These are the churches who don't "allow" women to be senior pastors. They pull out bible verses to justify their misogyny- as if hate is okay if the bible says it is. They strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.

These are the Christian organizations that refuse to be associated in any way with the message that being queer is acceptable. The Christian bookstores who pull an author's books because the author made a statement in support of marriage equality. The concerned parents who think trans people are predators and shouldn't be allowed to use the bathroom. The Christians who won't give money to a relief organization if that organization has employees married to same-sex partners. The churches that would never allow a queer person to be a pastor. The Christians who claim equality for LGBTQIA people is an attack on "religious liberty." They shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.

You can find bible verses that support your hate, your bigotry, your desire to blame other people for their own problems so that you have an excuse not to help them. You can feel good about yourself because you have the truth and other people aren't as godly as you. You can be a whitewashed tomb. But you're missing the entire point of Jesus.