Today, Our Lord wants to teach us, just as he taught the Pharisees, that purity and holiness aren’t just about externals, but are fundamentally something on the inside.  We don’t want to be a whitewashed tomb.  It’s tempting for us to give so much attention to how we are perceived by others, to how we look, to how people regard us and think about us.  And it’s easy for us to judge others merely on the basis of the externals that we see.  But Our Lord is always warning us against those temptations.  Washing only the outside of your coffee mug, for example, is a bad idea: it might look good at first glance, but inside is where all the gunk and germs can really fester and cause problems later on. 

The Lord’s point is that being clean is more than just having washed hands.  Who may stand in the Holy Place?  The man with clean hands and pure heart.  Everything that we do starts from the heart.  If that’s not clean, then everything that we do is compromised, no matter how it might look.  Our Lord describes all of the vices that originate in our hearts, touched as we are by original sin.  This means we can’t just focus on externals and appearances.  We have to take the time necessary to look deeply into our hearts.  We’re not permitted to wash our hands and leave our hearts unclean.  We are expected to love, desire, and seek purity of heart every day.  It’s a constant struggle, a lifelong struggle, but it should be a joyful struggle.  Because a pure heart brings peace.  It’s not easy and it takes constant work, but pursuing purity of heart and living in accordance with God’s plan for us, brings a joy and a deep peace that nothing else can. 

Moses recommends that, if the people want to have life, to have this purity of heart, that they should keep the commandments of God.  And that is true freedom.  Keeping the commandments of God is true freedom.  That’s countercultural right there.  Our culture tells us that freedom is to follow no commands, to do whatever you want, and that you’re more free, the more you can give in to your desires and urges without any constraints.  And if you dare to actually control yourself, to try to control your desires and preferences and not have them control you, then you must be repressed or something.  The Christian understanding of freedom is very different, much more ancient, and much more profound.  You’re free when you make choices in line with the person you are created to be, when you do things that make you a better person, that draw you closer to God, make you able to love more meaningfully. 

The human person is like an intricate machine: a combination of great biological miracles with the even more incredible miracle of the human mind, and the yet more unbelievable miracle of the human soul.  Who better to tell us how to operate this amazing machine than the manufacturer.  God is the architect and the builder of this amazing machine which is the human person, body, mind, and soul.  And he leaves us instructions for proper functioning.  The more we behave in ways that are in line with the intentions of our maker, the freer we will be, the happier we will be, and the more everything will work as it is meant to.  And so God tells us certain things to avoid which will harm us, and he directs us towards certain things that will strengthen us and make us better and happier.  He gives us an instruction manual, a manual for proper functioning, through the Ten Commandments, through the life of Christ, and through the moral teachings of the Church.  We develop habits of good behavior by following these commandments and teachings, by trying to correct those bad habits we may have developed, and by taking advantage of all the assistance that God and the Church can provide, especially in the sacraments.  By trying to follow the operating instructions left for us by the God who made us, we train ourselves for our life, which can present us with incredible challenges and temptations at times.  We’re more ready to do those things that a human person is meant to do, those things that truly fulfill us.  We’re ready to avoid those things which might seem attractive to us, but which our Maker knows aren’t good for us.  We purify the inside. 

Fostering this mindset, we’re also more prepared to give the charitable benefit of the doubt to those around us: knowing that the world we live in is messy and may make a person look quite haggard on the outside; but inside may be entirely different and we can never presume to know.  Finally, we live more and more with the peacefully clear conscience that can only come when what we do, what we say, what is seen on the outside, is a perfect reflection of what lies within.  This complete authenticity is a characteristic of the saints.  May it also be so for us, through the grace of God.