Moses said to the people: “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe”. In the letter of James, he says, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.” And in today’s gospel, Jesus says, “Hear me, all of you, and understand.”

Today’s readings are about two things; hearing God’s word, and living genuinely God-centered lives. How well do I hear what God is saying to me? How often do I recognize the voice and the face of God in the people I meet? And then, how well do I apply the Word of God to my everyday life? Do I emulate the great “success stories” of the world, or do I recognize those success stories for the delusions that they are?

With that in mind, I want to introduce you to two people, people who you might or might not have heard of. As I introduce these two characters, I want all of us to think about which of them we’d rather spend our time with and get to know?

First, is the fabulously successful businessman: He is wealthy beyond our wildest imaginations. The newspapers describe him as “an affable charismatic man”. He is a friend to rich and powerful worldwide, and is admired for his wisdom and financial insights. If there is a party where the rich and famous gather, he is a likely guest. Although he is rich, he is at ease talking to those of lesser means. He greets everyone with a smile and a handshake.

His career has spanned forty years, and in that time he has been the subject of numerous interviews and articles. He has all the toys. He has numerous homes, travels in private jets, and never hesitates to buy things because of the cost. Everyone wants to know him, and everyone who knows him feels privileged to call him their friend, or at least their acquaintance. His employees say he treats them like family.

Now, wouldn’t all of us like to know this man and benefit from his wisdom and his connections? And while we’re thinking of him, I want to introduce you to another person.

She was born dirt poor, and had to drop out of school part way through the sixth grade. She rarely travelled any distance from the place of her birth. Everyone knew her friendly face, but she lived an anonymous life. The only home she ever owned was given to her by an uncle. It was modest and neatly kept. In spite of the warm climate, she only bought an air conditioner when she was pressured by others to do so; even then, she only turned it on when visitors came to call.

People in her town knew her face, but she was unfamiliar to them. She never owned a car, preferring to walk where she needed to go. Even in her elder years she would take a small cart and drag it behind her to and from the grocery store, almost a mile from her home. Outside of her small town, she was unknown and unheralded by the world. Inside her town, she was unremarkable to most.

So, who would I rather spend my time getting acquainted with? Without knowing anything more, I would say the successful businessman. He has resources and connections that might serve me well. This elderly woman, although probably a very nice person, couldn’t do much for me. I think I’d rather know the successful businessman.

Now, let me take off their masks. The first person I described has become well known in the news, but he is no longer living in luxury. Today he is in prison, serving his 180 year sentence. Bernie Madoff will never again live as a free man. Bernie “made off” with about $50 billion in other people’s money. He has become the “poster boy” for the unscrupulous, underhanded con-artist. Knowing what we know about him now, I doubt that any of us would want to brag about our friendship with Bernie. He lived a life of duplicity and delusion.

Now let me introduce you to Oseola McCarty. She spent her life taking in laundry for people in the small town of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She did the laundry and ironed the clothes of the wealthy; in some cases, she did the laundry for three generations of the same families. Everyone knew her as the lady who washed other people’s clothes for a living. There was really not much to say about a person like Oseola Mc Carty.

In 1995, when she was 87 years old, Oseola shocked everyone by paying a visit to the University of Southern Mississippi. She went there to make a gift to the college, a gift to benefit African American children who could not afford the tuition. Oseola lived a frugal life, and from her 75 years of doing other people’s laundry she managed to save a quarter of a million dollars, money that she wanted to use to help other people. After she set aside some money for her church, and some for her family, she donated $150,000 to the university to help others get the education that circumstances had denied her.

I think we’re probably of the same mind, now that we know more about Oseola McCarty. Of course we’d rather spend some time with her and benefit from her genuine wisdom. Oseola was “the real deal”: she thought of others before herself, and she lived her life in gratitude for what she had. Never mind the big houses and cars of others, she counted her blessings every day and was grateful for them.

After her gift, many things changed for Ms. McCarty. She was celebrated by President Clinton at the White House, helped Mayor Giuliani ring in the New Year in 1997 in Times Square, and she wrote a book. But she never changed from being the simple, thoughtful, grateful person that she was. She heard the word of God, and she put it into practice in her everyday life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus admonishes the Pharisees as hypocrites. The Greek root is “hypokrites”, which literally means those who hide behind masks. We all have choices. We can freely choose to live behind the masks of money, power, fame and fortune, or we can take off those masks and become powerful in our vulnerability. We can become powerful in our ability to serve others. We can become powerful in our selfless love for one another. The reading from the letter of James says it the best: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

I think Oseola McCarty knew that and lived it. I pray that Bernie Madoff and all of us will come to know and live the Gospel message as selflessly as Osceola did.