Metaschematizō

Metaschematizō (μετασχηματίζω) — A compound Greek verb joining meta (change) and schēma (the fleeting, temporary outward fashion or costume of a thing). It describes a superficial alteration of appearance — adjusting the mask without touching what’s underneath. This is the structural mechanism behind what Jesus called a hypokritēs: literally, one who judges and speaks from beneath an actor’s theatrical mask. His description of the whitewashed tomb (Matthew 23:27) — beautiful on the outside, full of dead bones within — is metaschematizō made visible. It is the ego’s counterfeit of genuine transformation: religious behavior modified, persona adjusted, inner character untouched.

See also: The Mask and the Metamorphosis