August 30, Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: 1 Thessalonians 2:9–13; Gospel: Matthew 23:27–32
The famous book "The Mad Man" by Kalil Gibran has an intriguing plot. The narrative focuses on an artist who resided in a rural community. There were so many masks to be placed on his face, each representing a distinct emotion. One day, a thief came, took over all his masks, and started running through a market.
The artist chased the thief, who took all the masks. This is the first time he came out without a mask. He felt, for the first time, a warming sun and a refreshing breeze on his face. Meanwhile, a man in the market shouted mad man, and people started to stone him. Then he realized he was the only individual who was not wearing a mask.
The world is filled with people who always wear masks, like the Pharisees and scribes of the gospel. Jesus calls them hypocrites. The imagery of a white-washed tomb shows their double nature. They put on a mask outside, showing that they are pure and holy.
But inside, they are filled with malice. What is more important in the sight of Jesus is not the outer mask but the inner holiness.
In many ways, we are always the ones with masks. We, along with society, name the people who are more truthful as mad men, just like the Society of Jesus, which named him a lunatic.
As followers of Jesus, let us dare to always be unmasked.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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