Beyond Whitewashed Words
There’s a peculiar sting when someone says all the right things but means none of them. It’s a hollow echo, a performance of virtue rather than the substance of it. And yet, Jesus names this dynamic with unflinching clarity:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:27)
A striking image, isn’t it? The surface gleams, but underneath, there is only decay. This isn’t just about religious leaders of the past—it’s a sharp critique of any of us who choose appearance over truth, who mistake performance for discipleship.
In an age where carefully curated words can gain applause, and virtue signals can masquerade as virtue itself, the call to authenticity becomes even more urgent. Authentic faith does not rest in eloquence or outward alignment with the “right” causes. It is found in the slow, often unseen work of transformation—where words match actions, where integrity replaces pretense.
St. Catherine of Siena, never one to soften the truth, reminds us: “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.” Ah but my dear inspirational St Catherine, setting the world ablaze requires more than beautifully spoken ideals; it demands an inner life that burns with real conviction. In this secular age where relativism infiltrates our communities of faith and waters down our focus, where is this inner awareness and truth?
The question for us, then, is simple yet piercing: Do our words reflect the deep reality of our hearts, or are we merely painting over stone?
Because faith, when real, does not need to be performed. It simply is.
The Female Theologian 