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you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and
whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”’
“
Wo e t o y ou ,
teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut
the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor
will you let those enter who are trying to.”
“Wo e t o y ou ,
teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel
over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you
make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”
“Wo e t o y ou ,
blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it
means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound
by his oath.’ You blind fools!
Wh i ch i s g r ea t e r : t he g o l d , o r t he t emp l e
t ha t make s t he g o l d sa c r ed?
You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it
means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his
oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the
gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by
everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the
one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne
and by the one who sits on it. ‘ ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and
cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—
justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter,
without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but
swallow a camel…”’
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to
you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your
house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until
you say, ‘
Bl e s s ed i s he who c ome s i n t he name o f t he Lo rd . ’
”
“Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to
him to call his attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these things?’ he
asked.
‘ I t e l l y ou t he t ru t h , no t one s t one he r e wi l l be l e f t on ano t he r ;
e v e r y one wi l l be t hr own down . ’ ”
(Matthew 23: 1-39, 24: 1-2)
Does this frighten you to consider that this is true today? Look at the
condition of the world, and how those who call themselves Christians
conduct themselves. Without reservation, the clerics of today, with the