In today’s Gospel, Jesus exhorts the Pharisees and religious leaders to match their external manifestations of “holiness” with inner sanctity and purity of heart. He uses a very strong image to depict the split between inner self and outer appearances — that of white- washed tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of decaying flesh within.

Like all his teachings, Jesus’ words are addressed to us. Many Christians find it hard to show their true nature by their natural appearance, and resort to hiding behind façades of virtue that often do not match the person within. That’s because it is easier to manage our externals than to deal with our perceived flaws which we would rather prefer hidden. Jesus denounces this act of hypocrisy. He warns us about the vanity of appearance and pretense. Human as we are, there will always be flaws in our character. But as long as we judge our own behavior not other people’s; show mercy to others; and be faithful to Christ come what may, then our outer physical appearance will be as clean as our soul.