Paying attention to the inside more than the outside
Matthew 23:23-26
Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay
tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of
the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done,
without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and
swallow the camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You
cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and
self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that
the outside also may be clean.”
Yesterday, I
watched an interview on CNBC with Kobe Bryant. Raise your hand if you know who
Kobe Bryant is. He only won 5 NBA championships, he once scored 81 points in a
game (second highest ever) and played for the Lakers all 20 years of his NBA
career, and his nickname was “Black Mamba.” But the interview was not about
basketball; it was about investing.
Recently he
launched a venture capital company with $100 million to help budding businesses
to boom. He said two things in the interview that struck me. First what kind of
company or leader does he look for? Kobe explained: “I look more to the person,
and how they navigate through the ups and downs of what they go through. That’s
the most important thing to me.” In other words, he looks at what’s on the
inside – in the heart - and not what’s on the outside – if they are rich or
beautiful or if they have a Ph.D. (no disrespect, Dr. Hollenbeck).
The second
thing was what he said about “Coach K” who coached the Olympic basketball team
to a 28-0 record. Kobe said: “The biggest thing he did for U.S.A. basketball is
that he brought in [military] veterans and generals to speak to us. He made us
understand that we are not playing for ourselves but we’re playing fort the
U.S. That’s the big change; that’s the monumental shift.” In other words, Coach
K wanted to change what was on the inside – the attitude, the motivation – of
the Team U.S.A. players. They already know what to do on the outside, on the
court. You see, the outside was fine; their inside was a mess.
In the
gospel today, Jesus wants to change what’s on the inside, too. He criticizes
the Pharisees saying: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You
cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder
and self-indulgence.” Now, is Jesus really talking about how to wash dishes at
home? No. He’s talking about the same thing as the Black Mamba and Coach K: what
matters is what’s on the inside. What’s in your heart? Are you arrogant,
selfish, and mean, or are you humble, giving and kind?
Boys and
girls, if you want Kobe to give you some of his $100 million, or if you want to
play for Coach K’s U.S.A. basketball team, or if you want to be a disciple of
Jesus, look into your heart. What do you see there? Let me tell you what I’ve
seen and heard that’s in your hearts. I see students with hearts who are ready
to help another student open a locker or understand their homework. I see
students with hearts who are happy to help at Mass as servers and lectors. I
see students with hearts who share their lunches. I see students with hearts
who seek out the loners and make them feel part of our Trinity family. I see
students who do not judge another person by what’s on the outside, but look on
the inside. By the way, that’s why we make your wear uniforms; we want you to
stop looking at the brand names and the designer jeans, but rather to look into
another person’s heart and love them. Kobe Bryant said: “That’s the big change.
That’s the monumental shift.”
By the way,
today, August 23, is Kobe Bryant’s 38 birthday. So, this homily is my birthday
present to him. Happy birthday, Black Mamba.
Praised be Jesus C
hrist!
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