20150312 Sincere with Jesus

In the first reading, Jeremiah called on the people to admit their sins and repent, but the people didn’t listen. Jeremiah failed but it was not due to his efforts, it was due to the people’s hardness of heart. The Major Prophets Bible Commentary provides an insight to the issue: “the people’s hardheartedness, that is, the insensitivity that prevents them from examining their consciences in a desire to change where necessary and thus be able to hear the voice of God. Holy Scripture calls this obstinacy “hardness of heart” or “stubbornness of heart”. It is a kind of inner resistance, an imperviousness to the voice of conscience, but it can be traced back to free choices that people have made.”
Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.
The New Jerusalem Bible uses a different word for Faithfulness: “Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.” Sincerity is defined as: the quality or state of being sincere: honesty of mind: freedom from hypocrisy.
I like the second and third phrases. These are two topics that Jesus talked about during his earthly ministry. Freedom from hypocrisy is probably one of the most difficult states to accomplish. Jesus was always chiding the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Jesus would tell the church leaders that the real problem was going through the motions without meaning it in their hearts. We are no different today.
It is easy for our thoughts to interfere with our relationship with others and God. How often does our mind wander when the other person is talking? Or maybe we are thinking that the person really doesn’t mean what they are saying. It is so easy for us to do that.
We too, like the Pharisees, can go through the motions of worship with hard hearts that don’t care for the person next to us. We pray without meaning. We hand out food to the poor just going through the motions. Our hearts are not in loving and serving God because we are just going through the motions.
The response for the Psalm today: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
The Psalmist wrote: Oh, that today you would hear his voice: “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.”
“Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.” It seems ironic to say those words to you; you who are here for daily mass. I am sure there are others who would be here if they were able – work or school obligations prevent many from being here. I know that work was the reason I was unable to attend daily mass. After I retired, I have tried to attend every day. But even then, it is hard to accomplish.
You make it a priority to come to daily mass. You make it a priority to be sincere in all of your interactions with others. When we are sincere and treat others with respect and integrity, we are with Jesus in building the kingdom. At the end of today’s Gospel Jesus said “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Let us be sincere in how we live our lives so we will be with Jesus in his kingdom.