Dino Chronicles: Alas for you

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Alas for you

“How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.” Matthew 23:27-28, Good News Translation)

Shortly after Easter, I started writing about various songs from the musical “Godspell.” I promise there are only two left which I want to tell you about.

The words to the song “Alas for You” are taken from Matthew 23:13-37, which was too much for me to copy and paste here. Or too much for you to actually read. I chose the two verses above because they are probably the easiest to understand.

Have you ever been driving around and saw a beautiful house, with manicured lawn, pristine landscaping, and fresh paint on the siding? What if the inside was full of trash and looked like an episode of “Hoarders”? Would you wonder what was wrong with the people who lived there, that they cared only about the outside, what total strangers might see as they passed by? While the inside, the place where they actually live, is in complete disarray.

Or what if the man of the house beats his wife and children? Or what if the wife is an alcoholic and can’t keep up the inside of the house, while her husband slaves away to keep the outside presentable so the neighbors don’t suspect there's a problem?

Putting it that way, I hope you follow what I’m saying, what Jesus said. It’s not outward appearances that matter; it’s what’s inside – inside your heart, soul, and mind – that is essential. Take care of what is inside first and the outside will follow.

Lord, I pray that You give me a pure heart and that the light You’ve given me on the inside can shine to the outside for others to see. Amen