Homilias de fray Nelson Medina · Nelson Medina

LA GRACIA 2026/02/17 Cuidado con la hipocresía y la idolatría del poder

·11 min·1 clip

Christ warns his disciples to beware the 'yeast of the Pharisees and Herod,' a small but contagious force that can ruin everything.

The episode is a homily by Fray Nelson Medina, a Colombian priest of the Order of Preachers, focusing on a biblical phrase from Christ. It begins by introducing the metaphor of yeast as something small that spreads and affects everything, applied to the 'yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.' Medina clarifies that the 'yeast of the Pharisees' refers to hypocrisy, characterized by imposing burdens on others while justifying selfish, covetous behavior marked by a lack of love and compassion. He then defines the 'yeast of Herod' as the idolatry of power, which involves false power maintained through lies, violence, and cruelty, and fosters flattery. The homily explores how these behaviors are contagious. For hypocrisy, it spreads virally when encountering a vain person with an inflated ego; the hurt ego reacts by inflating its own ego, leading to a cycle of humiliation and vanity. For the idolatry of power, it spreads as those outside the inner circle, or 'rosca' in Colombian terms, see flatterers gaining privileges and feel excluded or unjustly treated, prompting them to seek their own power circles. Medina notes that this can make people become both 'Pharisees' and 'Herodians,' turning vain and ambitious. He emphasizes Christ's warning about the contagious nature of these behaviors and the necessity of clarity, humility, prayer, and God's life to avoid being affected or becoming complicit. The homily ends with a doxology, giving glory and honor to Christ. The format is a solo sermon with an educational and philosophical tone, structured around biblical exegesis and practical application.

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