DAILY HOMILIES #inside

To avoid self-deception, Jesus says, “First, clean the inside of the cup.” In other words, the first step to becoming His true followers is to look honestly at ourselves, acknowledge the dirt within our hearts, and clean them up. The problem is that, like the scribes and Pharisees Jesus condemned, we always try to do the opposite; we clean the outside and abandon the inside.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus likened the Scribes and Pharisees to whitewashed tombs, beautiful from the outside but full of dead men’s bones inside. If people get close to us, would they see something different from what we portray in public?

If only we make efforts to clean our insides, we would not only live happier and healthier lives, God himself would be more pleased with us.

The book of Proverbs says: “Keep your heart with all vigilance; for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23). Your thoughts are powerful, they determine what becomes of your life. Where your thoughts are now, there you will soon be. Where you are now is where your thoughts were in the past.