Our Venerable Father Pachomius the Great (346).
Acts 23:1-11. John 16:15-23.
Read Acts 23:1-11
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory for ever!
As we come to the end of the book of the Acts of the Apostles we notice that there is a similarity between the Gospel story and the life of the Church. The holy Apostle Paul is arrested and taken before the Gentile leaders and now the Jewish leaders. He is interrogated and struck on the mouth; just as Jesus: “When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” (John 18:22). He is living out the life of Christ or rather Christ is living in him. Not everyone will be called to live out the passion of Christ to the degree of martyrdom, but every Christian is called to live in Christ and to allow Christ to live in them. This is the path of salvation: union with Christ means union with God.
St. Augustine says, “Of course, those who do not understand him think that [Paul] uttered a reproach when he had been slapped by order of the high priest, for, with seeming insolence, he then said, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall.” But those who understand him take this as a prophecy. The “whitewashed wall” stands for hypocrisy; it is pretense, veiled beneath the priestly dignity, and under this title— as though beneath a white covering— it conceals, as it were, an inner slimy filthiness.” (St. Augustine, Sermon on the Mount 1.19.58.10).
It is the slimy filth that prevents us from seeing Christ in our midst, in the life of others and in our life. We can even live piously, presenting ourselves as faithful Christians, but if we live a double life then we will prevent Christ from entering our life, transforming our life and saving us.