There are two ways of cleansing the outside of the dish or cup. The first is purely hypocritical—concerned only with appearing good and holy, with no real intention of becoming so. The second, however, is an essential stage in the long work of sanctification and our growing conformity to Christ. Here I am referring to the initial overcoming of those outward manifestations of sin and alienation from God and from our true identity in Christ. Though this represents real progress on the journey toward spiritual wholeness, it still falls short of that inner freedom which is the true hallmark of God’s beloved children. Only when we allow the Holy Spirit to uncover and reveal the deeper roots of sin buried within the heart can those heavy chains be uprooted—chains that rob us of inner freedom and keep us enslaved to sin and death. Our prayers for our beloved dead, which we offer today, are precisely for this complete inner cleansing: the purification of their hearts and their final liberation into the glorious restoration of the divine image and likeness in which we were created. Therefore, even as we labor to cleanse the outside of the cup, let us not remain at that stage. Let us open our hearts to the searching and purifying Spirit, who alone can cleanse us from within, so that the purified exterior becomes a transparent manifestation of the renewed depths of our hearts.