Introduction:
May you
continue to follow those who live out their call to be in authority over you, and
may you also be true leaders when you are given positions of authority.
In a workshop
on servant leadership a workshop designed for those who were in roles of authority
in the parish, the presenter reminded those in attendance of the key role of leaders
– to serve those who are entrusted to their care. The example of Jesus at the Last
Supper was given for all to ponder. In John’s Gospel of the Last Supper (John 13-17),
Jesus begins the Last Supper by the act of washing the feet of the disciples. Some
of the points made about servant-leaders based upon Jesus’ act of service of washing
the disciples’ feet were the need for the leader to occasionally step down from
the place of honour, remove the robes of authority, and take on the role of a servant
(doulos). This includes being willing to get dirty as one helps those who are being
served to become clean. This emptying (kenosis) of oneself
must be freely chosen as an act of loving. Also included in this form of leadership
is the empowering of those under one’s authority to become servant-leaders. In the
end, the servant-leader will be honoured as a true and authentic leader and take
her/his rightful place as seen in the plan of GOD
Our readings
focus on those who are the religious authorities. Some religious leaders take advantage
of their positions of authority and in doing so, make it rough on those whom they
are called to serve. Others, like Jesus and St. Paul, use their authority in a way
that instructs, edifies, and makes growth possible for those whom they lead. Malachi
criticizes the priests of his day because they govern the people in ways beneficial
only to themselves. The psalm speaks of being taught by GOD in a way similar to
a child being fed by its mother. In the Second Reading, Paul praises the faithful
of Thessalonika because they have responded to the Word of GOD as authentically
preached by Paul, who also compares himself to “a nursing mother who cares for children.”
In the Gospel, Jesus chastises the religious leaders of His day because they do
not practice what they preach, and even make having a holy experience more difficult
for those whom they are called to serve.
Commentary: In
the three-year cycle there are only two Sunday readings from the prophet Malachi.
He could be called anonymous, for ‘Malachi’ means only ‘My messenger’. The book
is printed at the very end of the Old Testament – conveniently because it ends with
a message about the coming of the final messenger of the LORD before the Day of
the LORD; this leads on perfectly into the New Testament and the gospel of Matthew.
The book was probably written soon after the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon.
The prophets of this time show that the enthusiastic return was soon followed by
a period of disillusionment and slackness in the performance of religious duties:
they could not even get started on rebuilding the Temple. Today’s passage denounces
the religious leaders for their failure truly to give glory to God, both by their
sacrifices and by their failures in moral leadership. Are they really striving to
give leadership in celebrating the covenant between God and his people? The reading
is obviously chosen to pair with the gospel reading, where the religious leadership
at the time of Jesus is also fiercely criticized. Slackness in religious observance
is a danger in any age, even our own.
The psalmist, in contrast to the religious leaders spoken of in the First Reading, seeks to be taught by GOD. Just as a nursing child is comforted by its mother and can sleep peacefully in her arms, so the one who has come to GOD to be nourished by what GOD provides can rest secure in the arms of GOD. The only true source of comfort and hope is in the LORD.
Commentary: This is the earliest of Paul’s letters that we possess, and he stresses, as he often does later, his unremitting care for the Churches he has founded around the eastern Mediterranean region. He seems to be defending himself, perhaps against a charge that he had neglected them. Certainly, the urgency with which he moved from one city to another cannot have left him time to instruct them fully; therefore his letters to them are so rich in teaching for us! They supplement the rudimentary instruction which he gave to them when he was present. Elsewhere he underlines how heavily this anxiety for the well-being of these young communities weighs upon him. The vividness and excitement of his letters show how earnest and eager he was. Writing to the Corinthians, at the end of a recital of the persecutions, dangers and hardships he has undergone in the service of Christ and the gospel, he adds, ‘beside all the external things, there is, day in day out, the pressure on me of my anxiety for all the Churches’ (2 Corinthians 11.28). Paul’s self-defense stands in sharp contrast to the criticism in the first reading of the slackness of the religious leaders.
Commentary: This chapter contains the fiercest of all the hard things that the gospel of Matthew has to say about the scribes and Pharisees. It introduces a sevenfold curse upon them. The Pharisees were the party of the Jews most concerned with the exact observance of the prescriptions of the Law of Moses. The ‘scribes’ were lawyers to whom they would turn in the case of a clash between two laws. It is good to follow laws and good to be able to work out what the laws are telling you to do, but their attention to detail and their fussiness often made them lose sight of the real purpose of the Law.
However, Jesus was
prepared to meet the Pharisees on their own ground and debate with them in their
own terms. The Pharisees took no part in the condemnation and death of Jesus; they
are simply not there in the narrative. His opponents in Jerusalem were the Sadducees,
who were in charge of Jerusalem.
Argument about legal
observance is part of the Jewish way of life, even today, and the controversies
in the story of Jesus could well have been in-house discussions about the interpretation
of the Law, rather than hostile confrontations. He even used – and used brilliantly
– the Pharisaic method of quoting the Law in argument, setting text against text,
and the recognized rules of interpretation. He uses this technique to put the Law
of love of neighbour on the very same level as love of God.
In the gospels,
and especially in Matthew, written towards the end of the century, the hostility
to this group has obviously become fiercer, no doubt because of their persecution
of the followers of Jesus. As Matthew warns, ‘they will flog you in their synagogues.’
One of their concerns was obviously the status of the religious leaders. It looks
as though they were turning into little gods on their own. This was a danger in
Judaism, where specialized interpreters of the Law were required and honoured; there
were many rabbis (‘my great one’) in Israel
Reflection:
Who doesn't desire the praise and respect of others? We want others to see us at
our best with all of our strengths and achievements - rather than at our worst with
all of our faults and shortcomings. God sees us as we truly are - sinners and beggars
always in need of his mercy, help, and guidance.
Misguided zeal
and pride
Jesus warned the
scribes and Pharisees, the teachers, and rulers of Israel, to teach and serve their
people with humility and sincerity rather than with pride and self-seeking privileges
and honor. They went to great lengths to draw attention to their religious status
and practices. In a way, they wanted to be good models of observant Jews. "See
how well we observe all the ritual rules and regulations of our religion!"
In their misguided zeal for religion, they sought recognition and honor for themselves
rather than for God. They made the practice of their faith a burden rather than
a joy for the people they were supposed to serve.
True respect for
God inclines us to humble ourselves and to submit to his wisdom and guidance. We
cannot be taught by God unless we first learn to listen to his word and then obey
his instruction.
One Father and
Teacher
Was Jesus against
calling anyone a rabbi, the Jewish title for a teacher of God's word (Mt 23:7-8),
or a father? The law of Moses in Scripture specifically instructed all fathers to
be teachers and instructors for their children to help them understand and obey
God's instructions (Deut 6:7)? Why did Jesus rebuke the scribes and Pharisees, the
religious authorities of the Jewish people, in the presence of his disciples? Jesus
wanted to warn both his own disciples and the religious leaders about the temptation
to seek honors and titles that draw attention to ourselves in place of God and his
word. Pride tempts us to put ourselves first above others.
The Scriptures give
ample warning about the danger of self-seeking pride: Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:24).
Origen (185-254
AD), an early Christian teacher and bible scholar, reminds those who teach and lead
to remember that they are first and foremost "disciples" and "servants"
who sit at the feet of their Master and Teacher the Lord Jesus Christ:
"You have one
teacher, and you are all brothers to each other...Whoever ministers with the divine
word does not put himself forward to be called teacher, for he knows that when he
performs well it is Christ who is within him. He should only call himself a servant
according to the command of Christ, saying, Whoever is greater among you, let him
be the servant of all."
True humility
Respect for God
and for his ways inclines us to humility and to the simplicity of heart - the willing
readiness to seek the one true good who is God himself. What is the nature of true
humility and why should we embrace it as essential for our lives? We can easily
mistake humility as something demeaning or harmful to our sense of well-being and
feeling good about ourselves. True humility is not feeling bad about yourself, or
having a low opinion of yourself, or thinking of yourself as inferior to all others.
True humility frees us from preoccupation with ourselves, whereas a low self-opinion
tends to focus our attention on ourselves. Humility is truth in self-understanding
and truth in action. Viewing ourselves honestly, with sober judgment, means seeing
ourselves the way God sees us (Psalm 139:1-4).
A humble person
makes a realistic assessment of oneself without illusion or pretense to be something
one is not. A truly humble person regards oneself as neither smaller nor larger
than one truly is. True humility frees us to be ourselves as God regards us and
to avoid falling into despair and pride. A humble person does not want to wear a
mask or put on a facade in order to look good to others. Such a person is not swayed
by accidentals, such as fame, reputation, success, or failure. Do you know the joy
of Christ-like humility and simplicity of heart?
Humility is the
queen or foundation of all the other virtues because it enables us to see and judge
correctly, the way God sees. Humility helps us to be teachable so we can acquire
true knowledge, wisdom, and an honest view of reality. It directs our energy, zeal,
and will to give ourselves to something greater than ourselves. Humility frees us
to love and serve others willingly and selflessly, for their own sake, rather than
for our own. Paul the Apostle gives us the greatest example and model of humility
in the person of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,
and... who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross
(Philippians 2:7-8). Do you want to be a servant as Jesus loved and served others?
The Lord Jesus gives us his heart - the heart of a servant who seeks the good of
others and puts their interests first in his care and concern for them.
Lord Jesus, you
became a servant for my sake to set me free from the tyranny of selfish pride and
self-concern. Teach me to be humble as you are humble and to love others generously
with selfless service and kindness.
Daily Quote from
the Early Church Fathers: Whoever humbles himself will be exalted, by Chrysostom,
347-407 A.D.
"For nothing
is as crucial as the practice of modesty. This is why he is continually reminding
them of this virtue, both when he brought the children into the midst and now. Even
when he was preaching on the mount, beginning the Beatitudes, this is where he began.
And in this passage he plucks up pride by the roots, saying, 'Whoever humbles himself
will be exalted' (Luke 14:11). See how he draws off the hearer right over to the
contrary thing. For not only does he forbid him to set his heart upon the first
place but also requires him to follow after the last. For so shall you obtain your
desire, he says. So one who pursues his own desire for the first must follow after
in the last place: 'Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.'
"And where
will we find this humility? Go to the city of virtue, to the tents of the holy men,
to the mountains, to the groves (ascetics who live holy lives). There you may see
this height of humility. For these persons, some illustrious from their rank in
the world, some having had wealth, in every way put themselves down, by their dress,
by their dwelling, by those to whom they serve. As if they were written characters,
they throughout all things are writing the story of humility." (quote from
THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 72.3)
CLEANING IS
AN “IN-THING”
“What emerges from within a man, that and nothing else is what makes him impure.” —Mark 7:20. “All these evils come from within and render a man impure.” —Mark 7:23
The source of “acts
of fornication, theft, murder, adulterous conduct, greed, maliciousness, deceit,
sensuality, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, an obtuse spirit” (Mk 7:21-22) is the impurity inside us. Consequently, it is
very important to be cleansed inside and to remain clean inside.
This means that:
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of God’s most precious gifts because of its
cleansing power. The penitential rite at the beginning of Mass is one of the more
important moments of our day and life. To hear God’s cleansing Word daily is even
more necessary than to wash daily (see Eph 5:26; Jn 15:3).
Fasting, because
of its cleansing power, should be highly valued. The defilement from most TV programs
and what we view on our handheld electronic devices is intolerable.
“Dirty language”
and “dirty pictures” are aptly named and are worse than living in a garbage can.
The defilement from
unforgiveness must be removed immediately (see Mt 5:25). Be clean and stay clean — deep inside — and thus
be free and holy (see Jn 8:36).
Prayer: Father,
whatever it takes, cleanse the temple of my heart (see Jn 2:15ff). “The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the
ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living
being.” —Gn 2:7.
The personal
action for today: When have I experienced being under someone else’s authority and it was either
a true blessing because the person led with a sense of a servant-leader in mind,
or a curse because the person acted selfishly without caring for me? What did this
teach me about the role of authority? When I have been in a position of authority,
what has been my goal and purpose? Have I modelled my role on that of Jesus, Who
came to serve rather than be served? How can I better reflect the ministry (service)
of Jesus as I deal with those whom GOD has entrusted to my care?