Today’s readings show the importance of both the external work and one’s interior disposition to make an act good.
“to shun any brother who walks in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us. For you know how one must imitate us…. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us. In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.”
Doing Work Externally
In the first reading, St. Paul writes about the importance of imitating his actions and those of the other leaders. He and the other leaders “toiled in drudgery day and night.” They did not want to put extra burden on the community, so they worked alongside them. This shows the importance of one part of a virtuous act: doing the work externally. If St. Paul only thought ‘I want to show them a virtuous example’ and then did not do the good work externally, then there would be no example to follow. Thinking good thoughts is not enough. We must follow through and complete them, even when arduous, like St. Paul and his companions did. “Faith without works is dead.” -James 2:26.
Woe to You
In the Gospel for today, our Lord says “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.” Our Lord is emphasizing that the external work alone does not make an act good, but our interior thoughts and intention must be good as well. An act is no longer good if we do it because of pride or vanity. We must do a good act for the right reasons for it to be virtuous. There can be multiple good reasons to do an act, but the ultimate end should be out of love for God. When washing the dishes, you may be doing it just because you want clean dishes. That is a good reason but try to elevate this even further. I am washing these dishes to please God and out of love for Him! Changing your intention on an action is very powerful and will transform the menial everyday tasks into moments of grace and encounters with God. As you do this more and more, it will get much easier and you will start to find meaning in the menial!
May God help you to do the right thing for the right reason this week. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us!
