March 18, 2025
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 231
Reading 1
Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.
Come now, let us set things right,
says the LORD:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
But if you refuse and resist,
the sword shall consume you:
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power
of God.
"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?"
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Verse Before the Gospel
Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says
the LORD,
and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Gospel
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'
As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called 'Master';
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031825.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
1:10,16-20
Today’s reading is an attack on hypocrisy and a call for
humility in the presence of God and in the presence of our brothers and
sisters. The passage is from the very beginning of Isaiah and is primarily an
attack on the people’s hypocrisy—the same theme as in today’s Gospel.
There are strong words from Isaiah on his people and their
rulers. He calls the leaders of God’s people “rulers of Sodom” and speaks of
the people as “people of Gomorrah”. Sodom and Gomorrah were the epitome of all
that was most evil and repellent to God. They are classic examples of sinful
cities completely destroyed (see Gen 13:13; 18:20-21). And just as Jesus
addressed Peter as Satan for blocking God’s plans, so Isaiah addresses his
countrymen as deserving no better than the corrupt citizens of those wicked
cities.
In verses which are omitted, God, speaking through his
prophet, denounces the endless round of burnt offerings and sacrificial
animals.
Bringing offerings is futile;
incense is an abomination to me…
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen. (Is 1:13,15)
Why? Because “your hands are full of blood.” There is no
relationship between the endless prayers piously offered and behaviour which is
totally unacceptable to God.
But God’s desire is not to condemn, but instead to call his
people to genuine repentance.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean…
And how are they to do this? By offering still more
sacrifices? By going to Confession? By saying a perfunctory Act of Contrition?
No, they are to repent and “seek justice”; they are to redress the wrongs done
to others, and “defend the orphan; plead for the widow.” In the Jewish society
of the time, these were the weakest and most neglected of people. There could
be no real repentance unless care was taken of the weakest and neediest in
society. For us, in Lent, the message is exactly the same.
And there is hope:
If your sins are like scarlet,
will they become like snow?
Because:
If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land…
For those who truly repent (Greek, metanoia)—and
this is shown by a radical change in their behaviour and in the way they act
towards the weak and neglected—total rehabilitation is possible. That is what
we hope will be our experience, too, this Lent.
The choice is ours, either to submit ourselves to the
compassionate way of God and find life, or go our own rebellious, self-centred
way and find death.
Comments Off
Commentary on
Matthew 23:1-12
Today’s Gospel looks like an attack on the scribes and
Pharisees, but we should really see it as directed towards members of the
Christian community, especially its leaders. Jesus levels two criticisms
against the Pharisees:
– they don’t practise what they preach, and
– they do what they do to attract the admiration of others.
In fact, the words of Jesus are a warning to all people in
authority. Jesus was attacking the scribes and Pharisees, but his words can be
applied to many positions in our own society. Executives, managers, doctors,
lawyers, bishops, priests, civil servants and parents can all be included here.
In so far as they have genuine authority, they should be listened to—the doctor
about things medical, the lawyer about things legal, the priest about things
spiritual and the parents about family matters.
The Pharisees tried to impress by wearing wider phylacteries
and longer tassels. The phylacteries were small boxes containing verses of
Scripture which were worn on the left forearm and the forehead. The tassels,
worn on the corners of one’s garment, were prescribed by Mosaic law as a
reminder to keep the commandments. By making each of these items larger, one
drew attention to one’s superior piety and observance. It is not difficult to
see parallels in our time.
Unfortunately, it would be wrong to follow the behaviour of
such people, especially when they become arrogant and domineering, use their
authority to draw attention to themselves and assert their supposedly superior
status, or impose burdens on those ‘below’ them, which they themselves do
nothing to alleviate.
Authority is not for power, but for empowering and enabling.
Real authority is a form of service, not a way of control or domination or a
claim to special privileges. So Jesus has no time for people who insist on
being addressed by their formal titles. Matthew’s attack on the scribes and
Pharisees points to similar weaknesses on the part of church leaders in his
time. It is something that again we may be all too familiar with in our own
time:
“Hi, Jack!”…”Mr Smith to you, if you don’t mind.”
“Hi, Father Jack!”…”Monsignor Jones to you.”
As Jesus says, ultimately we are all brothers and sisters.
And elsewhere, he tells us that the greatest among us is the one who best
serves the needs of those around him, rather than the one who has the most
impressive titles, or the biggest desk, or eats in the executive dining room,
or has his/her picture on the cover of a magazine. Unfortunately, we contribute
a lot to this nonsense because some of us dream of being there ourselves
someday.
All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who
humble themselves will be exalted.
The perfect model is Jesus himself, who:
…though he existed in the form of God…emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave…became obedient to the point of death—even death on
a cross. Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name that
is above every other name… (Phil 2:6-9)
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/l1023g/
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
may we love You in all things and
above all things and reach the joy You have prepared for us beyond all our
imagining.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus
Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 23: 1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his
disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on
the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell
you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but
they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be
seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love
places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in
marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your
father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have
but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be
exalted."
Reflection
Today’s Gospel is part of Jesus’ long
criticism of the scribes and the Pharisees (Mt 23: 1-39). Luke and Mark mention
only a few lines of this criticism aimed at the religious heads of the time.
Only the Gospel of Matthew has a longer presentation of this. This very severe
text gives us a glimpse of the polemics which existed in the communities of
Matthew with the communities of the Jews of Galilee and Syria of that time.
In reading this text, which is strongly
critical of the Pharisees, we have to be very careful not to be unfair to the
Jewish people. Many Christians, for centuries, have had attitudes against the
Jews and, for this reason, engenders attitudes against the Christians. What is
important in meditating on these texts is to discover their objective. Jesus
condemns the lack of sincerity in the relationship with God and with neighbor.
He is speaking about hypocrisy, that of yesterday as well as that of today - of
our hypocrisy!
•
Matthew 23: 1-3: The basic error: they say, but
they do not do. Jesus addresses Himself to the multitude and to the disciples
and criticizes the scribes and the Pharisees. The reason for attacking them is
the disjuncture between their words and their actions. They speak, but they do
not do. Jesus recognizes the authority and the knowledge of the scribes: “The
scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses! You must, therefore, do
and observe what they tell you, but do not be guided by what they do, since
they do not practice what they preach.”
•
Matthew 23: 4-7: The fundamental error is
manifested in diverse ways. The fundamental error is hypocrisy: “They say, but
they do not do.” Jesus enumerates the points which reveal this. Some scribes
and Pharisees imposed heavy laws upon the people. They knew the laws well, but
they did not practice them; neither did they use their knowledge to lessen the
weight imposed upon the people. They did everything possible to be seen and
praised; they wore special tunics for prayer; they liked the first places and
to be greeted in the public squares. They wanted to be called “Teacher.” They
represented a type of community which maintained, legitimized, and nourished
the difference of social classes. It legitimized the privileges of the great
and the inferior position of the little ones. Now, if there is something which
displeases Jesus, it is appearances which deceive.
•
Matthew 23: 8-12: How to overcome the
fundamental error. How should a Christian community be? All the community
functions should be assumed as a service: “The greatest among you must be your
servant!” You should call nobody teacher (Rabbi), nor father, nor guide; because
the community of Jesus has to maintain, legitimize and nourish not the
differences, but rather the fraternal spirit. This is the fundamental law: “You
are all brothers and sisters!” The fraternal spirit comes from the experience
that Jesus is Father and makes of all of us brothers and sisters. “Anyone who
raises himself up will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be
raised up.”
The group of the Pharisees! The group of
the Pharisees was born in the second century before Christ, with the objective
of a more perfect observance of the law of God, especially regarding the
prescriptions on purity. They were more open to novelty than the Sadducees. For
example, they accepted faith in the resurrection and faith in the angels,
something which the Sadducees did not accept. The life of the Pharisees was an
exemplary witness: they prayed and studied the law for eight hours a day; they
worked eight hours in order to be able to survive; they dedicated eight hours
to rest. This is the reason why people respected them very much. And in this
way, they helped people to keep their own identity and not to lose it, in the
course of centuries.
The so-called Pharisaic mentality. With
time, the Pharisees took hold of power and no longer listened to the appeals of
the people, nor did they allow them to speak. The word
“Pharisee”means“separated.” Their observance was so strict and rigorous that
they separated themselves from the rest of the people. This is why they were
called “separated.” From this comes the expression “pharisaic mentality.” It is
typical of the people who think they can attain justice through the rigid and
rigorous observance of the law. Generally, they are people who are afraid, who
do not have the courage to assume the risk of liberty and of responsibility.
They hide themselves behind the law and authority. When these people obtain an
important function, they become harsh and insensitive and indifferent to hide
their own imperfection.
Rabbi, Guide, Teacher, Father. These are
four titles that Jesus prohibits people to use. Today, in Church, the priests
are called “Father.” Many study in the university of the Church and obtain the
title of “Doctor” (Teacher). Many people receive spiritual direction and take
advice from people who are called “Spiritual directors” (Guides). What is
important is to take into account the reason which impelled Jesus to prohibit
the use of these titles. If these were used by people in order to affirm their
position of authority and their power, these people would be in error and would
be criticized by Jesus. If these titles were used to nourish and deepen
fraternal spirit and service, they would not be criticized by Jesus.
Personal Questions
•
What is my reason for living and working in
community?
•
How does the community help me to correct and to
improve my motivations?
•
Do you know of people within the Church who also
see themselves as more important or above others because of their position in
the Church? Why is this?
Concluding Prayer
I am listening.
What is God's message?
Yahweh's message is peace for His people, for His
faithful, if only they renounce their folly. (Ps 85: 8)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét