Sermon on the Mount VII: I Am The Hypocrite | Barbara Sunofsky

Matthew 6: 1-5, 16-18

Barbara Sunofsky. In this passage, Jesus addresses the motivations behind our religious practices.  He lifts up a new possibility…that rather than needing to be approved of and seen by others, we have the opportunity to be seen, truly seen, by God. He tells us that if we want the notice of others, then that becomes our reward; and those of us who do so are hypocrites, a term he often used to describe the Pharisees of his day. That false identity is designed to elicit something…usually accolades and self-aggrandizement. We cannot make a mistake here and assign the title “hypocrite” only to others.  We, I, am the hypocrite.  We are well-intended, but mistaken in our self-glorification and God has so much more for us.