I dislike standing here as most of you know. I don’t object at all to talking about the Bible, quite the opposite, but I object to standing up here doing so while all of you are, to put it bluntly, down there. I only do so because the microphone is better here and most visiting clergy like to be up here feeling safe and secure with notes in front of them, and there is a need for consistency of course. However, speaking from a lofty height does bring with it the charge of ‘Hypocrite!’ Anyone who stands up in public and offers spiritual or moral teaching faces the occupational pitfall of ‘hypocrisy’. Our lofty words and indeed physical position can never be matched by the reality of our lives. And not only the preacher but every Christian, indeed every person striving to be good, faces the same test of not being a hypocrite. It seems that we dare to observe the speck in others eyes while ignoring the one in our own, but thus is life, people hold each other accountable to standards which they do not themselves always live up to and cannot wait to stretch them out on the rack of public opinion, judgement and malice until every one of their bones are broken. Many like to dismiss an entire community, or race, or church as not meeting their personal expectations and do not rest easy until they have broken as much of that community as they can.

So hypocrisy is a word used now to mean ‘does not do what I want’ or ‘does not say what I want to hear’ rather than genuinely having ingrained double standards, and we all fail to keep our moral standards to some degree (unless we’re setting our bar too low, which would be just as wrong, if not worse). Maybe we are all neo-hypocrites then, or maybe we have forgotten what it is to forgive and to love, because it’s hard if not impossible to love what you hate, so if you convince yourself that you hate something, or something is not what you want, you will contort yourself on the rack of your own judgement until you resemble a grotesque parody of a body. Or just look on twitter, or facebook, which may be easier.

It's no surprise that we don’t need to be self aware to lay a charge of neo-hypocrisy, you can just say what you want and walk away, as though words have no meaning, which is the natural auto da fe of a world where there are different truths and prayers are thought to be weapons at worst or idiocy at best, and universally directed to a God who is not there to hear them. A wise teacher knows that which they are ignorant of, a faithful disciple knows the long path ahead, but many care to experience neither. Maybe there, in that sentence, is a truer definition of hypocrisy? In other words, as long as we are aware of the log in our own eye, and take steps to remove it, nothing prevents us calling the attention of others to the general problem of specks in eyes, or even to their particular speck in the eye, though we may not see clearly to help them actively remove it.

In the present scandals in the Church, we need humility more than ever. Jesus says that ‘every tree can be told by its own fruit’, and that we draw good or bad from the store of goodness or badness in our heart. People might be justified in questioning the goodness of the Church when the outward actions of her members (especially in high places) are so visibly rotten. We urgently need humility to heal us all the way down, rooting us totally in Christ, until our inner core is pure, far purer than our outward appearance. That would eliminate all hypocrisy, however we define it.

Jesus instructs us ‘to take the log out of our own eyes before we try to take the speck out of our neighbours’ eyes.’ If we didn’t have a log in our eye, then we would see that others are created in the image and likeness of God and therefore valuable and precious in the sight of God and therefore we would not judge them, but love them as part of our own self. Therefore we need to remember that we are sinners in need of God’s mercy, so that we may recognise and love other sinners- for by doing so, we build up the Body of Christ and build up our church, by loving each other and helping each other not to sin. That’s the love we are called to, and the model of a church.

So pray for others rather than talk about them, judge them, or make our assessments about them. Our Lord Jesus calls us to love our enemies and pray for those that hurt us. If there is a sin issue that should be addressed then that should be done in a loving and caring way because it is our own body that we are healing. Finally, we should care for others when the situation permits. Meaning, be there for them, rather than pointing out their faults and sins because ultimately we are called to bring others to Christ and help them overcome their sinful struggles through the love, grace, and mercy of God. If the Lord leads you, guide them through the scriptures and through the sacraments of the church on how to live a life of wholeness and restoration and for all of us, in three days it will be Lent, so we can all make a new beginning together in Christ, to whom be the glory until the end of the age.