…cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean. (MT 23:26)

Today’s readings from scripture ask a poignant question. It’s a question that is both fundamental and fair. It is also challenging:

Are we focused on what really matters? Or do the most important things escape us?

Jesus is skilled at asking questions such as these with grace – and with bite, if I may say so. He teaches lessons in ways relatable to us. Here, he uses a simple cup to make his point. Jesus admonishes the scribes and Pharisees to “cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.” Recently, I was reading Cinderella to my five-year-old daughter and as the characters of the ugly stepsisters were introduced it was noted that they appeared ugly because they were unkind and selfish. The inside of their cup was not clean. They were a façade. Cinderella, on the other hand, was lovely and beautiful (though she appeared in rags) precisely because she was kind and selfless. She had emptied herself. Indeed, what must precede the cleaning of the inside of a cup?

It must first be empty.

As Christians, as human beings, we must empty ourselves. We must empty ourselves of self-absorption, of vanity, of self-serving, of the desire for praise – for recognition. Only when we do this can we orient ourselves to the service and care of others. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (MT 20:28)

Let us all pray today that we may empty ourselves in such a way that we may be filled with the Spirit of God.