“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within you are full of rapine and uncleanness. Thou blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside may become clean. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones, and of all filthiness. So you also outwardly indeed appear to men just; but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
Jesus then turns to the evils of a scrupulosity of small details, to observe the ritual and minor observances, while neglecting the basic commandment to love: “Dearly beloved, I write not a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning” (1 John 2:7). To cleanse the outside of the cup and platter is to desire to seem righteous: “When thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth” (Matthew 6:3), rather than acting from an abundance of love: “The fountain of gardens: the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Libanus” (Canticle 4:15). To be comfortable in the presence of God, to love Him in all things, and from the treasure of your overflowing heart give to all that you encounter, this is to make the inside clean, with the streams of love flowing from you making clean the outside of the cup as well: “The water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting” (John 4:14). Or, it can be a relation to one’s words, with wisdom being a pleasing drink: “Thy throat like the best wine, worthy for my beloved to drink, and for his lips and his teeth to ruminate” (Canticle 7:9), and meaty discourse being a true feast: “Wisdom hath built herself a house, she hath hewn her out seven pillars. She hath slain her victims, mingled her wine, and set forth her table” (Proverbs 9:1-2). However, to speak in an attempt to seem wise is vanity: “Be not lifted up out of season with thy wisdom” (Ecclesiasticus 32:6), but to speak of things of the spirit because they are the joy of your heart, bringing forth beautiful fruits for the enjoyment of others, this to present a fine meal from a washed cup and platter: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good” (Luke 6:45). When words about God make your heart sing: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was to me a joy and gladness of my heart: for thy name is called upon me, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremias 15:16), you will lose taste for all else, whereas the scribes and Pharisees ate ravenously of the things of the earth, while failing at letting their hearts be touched by the words of God: “Thy words have I hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against thee” (Psalm 118:11). Jesus then calls them “whited sepulchers,” because love is the life of the soul, and without the living flame of love, all religiousness is for naught: “Love never falleth away: whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 13:8). Thus, the scribes and Pharisees may have taught, dressed in accord with their station, and been well-spoken, but when hate, desire, and lust run rampant in the soul, such goods are a mere show. This is a feigned righteousness, Theophila, not done out of love for God, like an actor going through a play rather than a wife pleasing her husband out of an abundance of love: “The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils” (Proverbs 31:11). This is the importance of the prayer that helps you to understand how loved you are, to take deep consolation in the things of God: “A cluster of cypress my love is to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi” (Canticle 1:13), that your pious actions may not arise out of habit or a Pharisaical rule-following, but because they bring you joy: “I will rejoice at thy words, as one that hath found great spoil” (Psalm 118:162). Finally, because the Pharisees observed in the eyes of others a flawless righteousness, they knew the commandments masterfully, but without understanding their goodness and the love with which they were given, they only upheld them in public and missed the central point: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’” (Galatians 5:14). Therefore, let not any call to conversion be a burden to your joy: “Extinguish not the spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), but see it as wood to make your flame burn brighter and purer. Ah, Theophila, how you need His love to avoid such a snare! To go through life following rules, or not being drawn fully into the mystery, this is not the life of Christ, but to be a burning offering of love, that you may be a spouse of God rather than a Pharisee that knows the commandments well: “If therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).