Hi, my name's Father Mike Schmitz and this is Ascension Presents.
So, one of the things I think a lot of times we get as Catholics or as Christians is, like,
"I know about you Christians. I know about you Catholics. You're just a bunch of hypocrites."
And maybe you've heard that, maybe you've heard that before. Maybe even, as a Christian or as a Catholic,
you've gone to Mass or you, you've hung out around other Christians or other Catholics and are like "Man! They're just a bunch of hypocrites!"
And, I think that's a huge...problem.
But, I don't know if it's the exact problem that we think it is. Here's what I mean.
Jesus even says...He's talking to the Pharisees...and He says "Woe to you Pharisees, you hypocrites!"
Now, Jesus uses the word hypocrites in accusation against the religious people of His own time.
But, what is the word hypocrite, what does it actually mean?
What it actually means is "actor".
So, a hypocrite is an actor. A hypocrite is someone who is simply pretending.
And, that's what we have to ask the question- are Christians, or are Catholics, am I or are you...pretending?
Because there's a right way to pretend and there's a wrong way to pretend.
The wrong way to pretend is this..."I don't actually believe this."
"I, I don't believe this. I don't actually think that, that God is good."
"I don't actually believe that all people matter. I don't (laughs) really believe that, umm,
"I should love my neighbor as myself and that I should love God before all things.
"But, I pretend like I believe that."
That, that, that's a hypocrite
And, and I've known people like that! I've known, actually, I've known people who have, they go to church not because...
they..I remember (laughs) I remember this so clearly when I was in high school.
There was this man, who actually explicitly said this. He said that once he got done with his job, once he retired from his job
he'd no longer have to, had to go church at one particular church, because that's where his boss went.
So, that's the only reason he went there was so his boss would see him at church.
And he's like "OK, now I'm retired, I get to go to church wherever I want now."
That's someone who's a hypocrite! He was pretending to believe something that he didn't actually believe.
He was an actor. That's the wrong way to pretend, the wrong way to be an actor.
And, I have to ask the question about myself. Is, are there some areas in my life where I'm just pretending?
I'm pretending to believe something.....and I don't really believe it?
Because that's the kind of hypocrite that Jesus is talking about.
But, there's a good kind of pretending! And, the good kind of pretending is this...
I believe it! I believe that God is worth my whole life. I believe that all people matter to God and, therefore, they need to matter to me.
I believe that every person is deserving of dignity, but I fail to live up to that.
Because, I'll say this, there's a difference between being a hypocrite and simply being human (sighs)!
Being a hypocrite is "I'm going to pretend to believe something that I don't really believe.
Being human is "I believe this, but I'm struggling to live up to it".
All of us, all of us, are are gonna be human! We don't have to be hypocrites.
All of us have this thing, like "No! I really do! I really believe that, that I wanna follow God! I really believe that I want to treat people in the right way"
And....I'm trying...but, I'm failing to live up to that.
And, so there's a right way of pretending. What I mean by that is this: maybe you've heard the phrase,
"Hey, just, ya know what fake it til ya make it"! Fake it til ya make it
and then, ah ah, that might inspire some people, but I know that for other people it totally turns them off!
They're like "Fake it?! Are you kidding me? That's the last thing I want to do!
"I wanna be authentic, like, I wanna be genuine. I wanna have integrity, I don't want any faking".
And...you'd be right! I don't want the wrong kind of pretending or the wrong kind of faking. I'm only pretending to believe this.
But, there's a certain kind of faking that actually is helpful.
What that is, is "I'm not pretending to believe something, I'm gon-, I'm not gonna act like I believe something. I'm gonna act as if I had strength.
(laughs) "I'm, I'm gonna fake it til I make it! Meaning, like, I'm gonna act...I know that God's worth my love, I don't really love Him like I should
"but I'm gonna act like, I'm gonna act like I know I should love Him!"
So, the question I can ask myself is...If I fully loved God today, like, how would I act?
I wanna act like that!
If I fully believed that all people matter, how would I act? I wanna act like that!
And, and that recognition of, actually I do, I do believe that God's deserving of my love. I do believe that all people matter!
And, so I ask the question, 'kay, if I, if I interiorize that, if I was the best me...what would I do?
Well, then, let me strive to do that.
That's not being a hypocrite. Or, if it is, it's being the best kind of hypocrite.
It's saying "I totally believe this, but I wanna believe it even more."
It means "I totally agree with this, but I wanna live it even better!"
So that's what that good part of "fake it til you make it" really means.
So, here's the thing. Am I a pretender?...Some days.
Some days I pretend.
Because, some days, I act as if I love God more than I really do.
Not for someone else. Not so someone else can see it. But, because I know that that's the right decision.
Some days I don't want to give my time to some other person.
But, I say "Wait? Is that, do I really believe that that person matters to God?"
Yes, I do.
Well, then, I'm gonna act like......they do.
Because, they really do.
Even if I don't feel it, I'm gonna live like this.
That's not being a hypocrite. It's just being human.
Now, in all this...last thing. In all of this, we can't do it on our own.
We ask God for His grace and here's the thing: God wants to help us live up to our beliefs.
God wants to help us live up to our potential. God wants to help you be the saint He is calling you to be.
So, God, give me strength when I am weak.
God give me love when I don't love.
God give me courage when I feel afraid.
And, God, let me act...when it's hard to act.
Don't be afraid of being a hypocrite
Be afraid of not acting on what you truly believe...in Jesus Christ...with His grace.
Does that make sense?? (laughing) I hope it does! Anyways...
My name's Father Mike Schmitz. This is me and Ascension Presents. And for all of us here, and all that stuff (laughs) God Bless!!
gosh!
AHH...what a moron!!
And, I'm not even pretending to be a moron. I actually am a moron. I just live up to that every single day.
Listen, not an actor at all. Not a hypocrite. Not a pretender. Full moron.