Clean the Inside

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There is something almost uncomfortable about today’s Gospel. Jesus is invited to dinner by a Pharisee, and before the meal the Pharisee is surprised that Jesus does not perform the usual ritual washing. And Jesus immediately goes deeper: “You Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil.” That is strong language. But Jesus is not attacking cleanliness or religious practice. He is exposing something much more dangerous: the temptation to look right without becoming right. We can polish the outside while leaving the inside untouched.

And if we are honest, this is not only a Pharisee problem. It is our problem too. We can look prayerful and still carry resentment. We can come to Mass and still refuse to forgive someone. We can know all the right Catholic answers and still be impatient, proud, jealous, or judgmental. We can make sure everyone thinks we are doing fine while quietly avoiding the places in our heart that need conversion. And that is the question Jesus puts before us today: What am I working harder to protect – my image, or my soul?

Jesus says, “Give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.” That can sound strange at first. What does generosity have to do with inner purity? A lot, actually. Because greed, pride, and selfishness all turn us inward. Almsgiving does the opposite. It opens the hand, and sometimes opening the hand helps open the heart. Jesus is reminding us that holiness is not mainly about appearance; it is about love. A clean heart is a heart that is becoming less obsessed with itself and more available to God and to others.

Maybe that is the invitation today: stop managing appearances and let Jesus enter the hidden room. The room where we keep the anger, the insecurity, the envy, the habits we excuse, the wounds we do not want anyone to see. We do not have to pretend before God. He already knows. And the beautiful thing is that Jesus does not reveal our brokenness in order to shame us; He reveals it because He wants to heal it. Confession, prayer, acts of mercy, forgiveness, generosity – these are not ways of making ourselves look holy. They are ways of letting Christ actually make us holy.

So perhaps today we can ask one simple question: Lord, what part of my inside have I been trying to cover with a clean outside? Maybe that is where grace wants to begin. Because God is not impressed by a spotless cup with something bitter inside. He wants the whole person. He wants the part everyone sees, and the part no one sees. And real holiness begins when those two finally become the same.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, cleanse my heart from the inside out. Show me where I am hiding behind appearances, excuses, or pride. Give me the courage to let You into the places I avoid, and make my faith sincere, generous, and full of love. May the person I appear to be become the person I truly am before You. Amen.

– Homily by Rev. Fr. Patrick Agbeko