On Halloween, folklore imagined the barrier between the dead and the living could be breeched. To hide from roaming spirits, ghastly masks were worn so that the living were able to walk unrecognized among the dead.
Masks are behind a New Testament word that belongs uniquely to Jesus. The word is hypocrite. Hypocrite is derived from the Greek word for actor. In the Gospels, it is used negatively to denote one whose true nature and motive are hidden behind a proverbial ancient Greek actor’s mask.
In Mark’s Gospel (7:1-8), as Jesus’ reputation spreads, a delegation of religious leaders is dispatched from Jerusalem to confront this unorthodox Galilean teacher. One would expect some sort of substantial religious debate at this point, and there actually could have been over Jesus’ reinterpretation of tradition. However, the accusation of the authorities is portrayed as trivial and is left pertaining merely to questions of hygiene.
At this point, according to Mark’s telling, Jesus pivots and uses the occasion to teach something far more profound, something at the core of his religious reform. Jesus declares his accusers hypocrites and turns to Isaiah for corroboration: “’This people honors me [God] with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’” Then, in his own words, Jesus lays-out his fundamental protest: “‘You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’” This is what Jesus means by hypocrite.
Jesus is a perpetual reminder that God calls the faithful to be radically different. Too often though, God is used to justify what is rather than what should be, to rationalize power and to sanctify the ones who wield it rather than question power and the powerful. This is why church and state should always be separate. A politically favored church does not serve two masters; it serves one. Too often the religious stand by worldly leaders regardless of, even in spite of, their actions and goals. This is the hypocrisy Jesus calls out in his gospel and his life.
I seldom find the occasion to quote Nietzsche, the philosopher who pronounced, “God is dead,” but here he has something pertinent to say. Nietzsche honed in on the difference between the Christianity he knew and Christ. Jesus he respected; Christianity he dismissed. He declared that if Jesus were his contemporary he would be banished to Siberia as a political agitator, and that Christianity would concur, or in his more colorful language: “What then are these churches now if not the tombs and sepulchers of God?”
Nietzsche made a name for himself with such statements, but, for example, consider that in the early 1800s, there was only one American millionaire, John Jacob Astor. His fortune translated into 2025 dollars is $800 million. This is not enough to place him among the approximately 900 American billionaires today. And yet, more than half of all Americans live paycheck to paycheck. We were an unbridled capitalist society in Astor’s day. Now we are a grossly selfish and less competitive oligarchy. We even treat corporations as if they are people. It is not hard to search for what Jesus says about the wealthy or impoverished, the same Jesus who had to ask his opponents for a coin to make his point about “Give unto Caesar …,” but many Christians and churches seem less than troubled by such matters. Isn’t this the hypocrisy Jesus condemns?
Yesterday was United Nations Day, which commemorates the 80th anniversary of the approval of the UN Charter. After two World Wars, nations realized there had to be a better way. After eight decades, however, I fear we may have forgotten the cost and tragedy of war. Now we mock and withhold funding for the UN. It will not be the old men in powerful positions around the globe who number among the casualties and dead of war. They will not know the fear and trauma of the displaced and the vulnerable. Somehow though, God and guns are said together, and sometimes visualized with a cross, the implacable symbol of non-violence. The contradictions numb the mind and demoralize the soul, but many Christians and churches are accommodating. Isn’t this the hypocrisy Jesus condemns?
Political pressure is aggravating a divide between red and blue states. The military, unbelievably, is armed on American streets and urged to fight the enemy within. Jesus, however, included among his disciples a tax collector (Matthew 10:3) and a Zealot (Luke 6:15), men who would have hated each other. He ministered to Jews and Gentiles. He included women. He forgave his enemies even as they drove nails into his body. A September 2025 poll indicates that polarization is judged the second most critical problem America faces, and yet the religions rhetoric of many Christians and churches fan the flames of division. Isn’t this the hypocrisy Jesus condemns?
Hypocrite is a word unique to Jesus and maybe that’s because sometimes his followers prove all too willing to “‘abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’” Our nation needs people of faith to unmask before it’s too late.
The First Congregational Church of Sunderland, United Church of Christ, at 91 S. Main St., has ministered to our local communities since 1717. Sunday Services begin at 11 a.m. We are an official “Open and Affirming” congregation. When we say “All are welcome here,” we mean it. We would love to have you come and help grow our socially conscientious church. We offer in-person religious education for the youth and online Bible study for adults. The church’s website and Facebook page are found under First Congregational Church of Sunderland. If you wish to reach Rev. Randy Calvo, email randyc1897@gmail.com.