Christian Reflection and Prayer

Throughout the Gospels, the language Jesus uses
to condemn the hypocrisy of the Scribes and
Pharisees is always harsh and uncompromising.
He says:

They preach but they do not practice.

They bind up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay
them on men's shoulders.
They do all their deeds to be seen by men.
They love the place of honor at feasts and the best
seats in the synagogues.
They pay tithes while neglecting the weightier
matters of justice, mercy and faith.

They are frauds, blind fools, blind guides; they are
like white-washed tombs, beautiful to look at on the
outside but on the inside full of filth and dead men's
bones.

They display a holy exterior, but inside they are filled
with evil.

Fools! Frauds! Blind guides! White-washed tombs!
Notice again that these very strong words of Jesus are
not directed toward atheists or agnostics or criminal-types or
public sinners. They are directed at respected Churchmen --
men who publicly profess faith in God

A lover of exotic birds finally gave in to her hidden
 desire for a parrot that could really talk. After
months of searching, she found the parrot of her
dreams. That bird could talk a blue streak!
Unfortunately, it had been previously owned by a
man whose everyday vocabulary included a great
deal of profanity. Nevertheless, the woman worked
hard at teaching the parrot good sayings, like
"Praise the Lord," "I love you," "God is good.
" One day, the woman forgot to feed the parrot
before leaving the house for the day. When she
returned home she heard him uttering all the curse
words he had ever learned. Whereupon she picked
up the bird, put it in the deep freeze, and as she
shut the door, she said, "I'll teach you not to use
those bad words ever again." A few minutes later,
she opened the freezer door and asked. "Have
you learned your lesson?" "Yes Ma'am," the
shivering parrot replied, "but can I ask a question?"
"Yes, you may," said the woman. The parrot replied,
"I thought I knew all the bad words, so tell me, what
did that frozen turkey in there say?"
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