Matthew 23:13-39

“... How often I wanted to gather your people together...” Matthew 23:37b CEB

I am absolutely an unashamed, detail-oriented person. There, I’ve said it, as if it wasn’t already acutely obvious. I see all the details, and I work to make sure all the details fit together. But I’ve learned over the course of my lifetime that being a detailed person isn’t always the best approach, like in today’s passage.

In this section, Jesus is confronting a version of holiness that has become hollow via religious leaders who have become so deeply committed to the details of faith (rules, rituals, and visible markers of devotion) that they’ve lost the forest for the trees. They’ve become disconnected from the heart (and the intention) of God. They’ve become so wrapped up in appearances that they’ve neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness, the hallmarks of the Kingdom of God.

What Jesus is seeking to suggest through his rather harsh words is that true holiness leads to wholeness. That our life of faith should lean into restored relationships, compassion for others, and integrity between what we profess and how we live.  Jesus is reminding these religious leaders that in seeking an externally polished faith, they’ve missed the point entirely.

As we approach the end of the passage, this is where my heart begins to break. Confrontation turns into lamentation. Jesus longs to gather the people like a hen gathering her chicks under her wings. God is seeking to draw all people to Godself and into lives that are whole, not just compliant. 

So as we consider our responsibility as followers of Jesus today, may we ask: what does wholeness look like today rather than just holiness? What does being faithful to the full calling of God require of me? And where are the details getting in the way of the bigger story God is telling us? - Allison