The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today inspire us with hope for transformation that brings truth, beauty and peace to our world through our humble service of others.
The reading from the Prophet Ezekiel is a vision of the Divine Glory returning to the Temple.
* [43:8] They placed their threshold against my threshold: in preexilic Jerusalem, the Temple and the palace belonged to the same complex of buildings; kings like Ahaz and Manasseh treated it as their private chapel for the religious practices Ezekiel condemns. In the new Israel the Temple is free, even spatially, from civil jurisdiction; cf. 45:7–8. This is an instance of Ezekiel’s broader program to separate the sacred from the secular. (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 43, n.d.)
Psalm 85 is a prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favour.
* [Psalm 85] A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 85, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus denounces Scribes and Pharisees.
* [23:1–39] The final section of the narrative part of the fifth book of the gospel is a denunciation by Jesus of the scribes and the Pharisees (see note on Mt 3:7). It depends in part on Mark and Q (cf. Mk 12:38–39; Lk 11:37–52; 13:34–35), but in the main it is peculiar to Matthew. (For the reasons against considering this extensive body of sayings-material either as one of the structural discourses of this gospel or as part of the one that follows in Mt 24–25, see note on Mt 19:1–23:39.) While the tradition of a deep opposition between Jesus and the Pharisees is well founded, this speech reflects an opposition that goes beyond that of Jesus’ ministry and must be seen as expressing the bitter conflict between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew at the time when the gospel was composed. The complaint often made that the speech ignores the positive qualities of Pharisaism and of its better representatives is true, but the complaint overlooks the circumstances that gave rise to the invective. Nor is the speech purely anti-Pharisaic. The evangelist discerns in his church many of the same faults that he finds in its opponents and warns his fellow Christians to look to their own conduct and attitudes. (Matthew, CHAPTER 23, n.d.)
Eileen Burke-Sullivan comments that if we read the first reading under the influence of the Gospel, the ultimate glory of God is humility – that is truth about what is.
In Matthew’s Gospel passage chosen for today we find Jesus challenging us not to take on the false glory of titles or positions of human honor – which are lies. Rather be what we genuinely are and honor God alone for the Divine Glory that God shares with us. This recognition of God’s glory and the intimacy that it engenders between each of us, and God, is total consolation – the great joy possible and engenders gratitude and love – the gifts that set us all free. (Burke, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “God is our father and teacher,” by Jerome (347-420 AD).
"No one should be called teacher or father except God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the Father, because all things are from him. He alone is the teacher, because through him are made all things and through him all things are reconciled to God. But one might ask, 'Is it against this precept when the apostle calls himself the teacher of the Gentiles? Or when, as in colloquial speech widely found in the monasteries of Egypt and Palestine, they call each other Father?' Remember this distinction. It is one thing to be a father or a teacher by nature, another to be so by generosity. For when we call a man father and reserve the honor of his age, we may thereby be failing to honor the Author of our own lives. One is rightly called a teacher only from his association with the true Teacher. I repeat: The fact that we have one God and one Son of God through nature does not prevent others from being understood as sons of God by adoption. Similarly this does not make the terms father and teacher useless or prevent others from being called father."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12 reminds us that as followers of Jesus, we belong to a Church made up not of proud elites but of forgiven and humble children. But if we are not vigilant, we can find ourselves adopting the same separatist mindset as the Pharisees whom Jesus criticized.
For example, we may think that we are not as sinful as someone else whose sins are more public or “scandalous.” That can cause us to keep our distance from them and to think that we are holier than they are. On the other hand, if our sins are more obvious, we might think that we aren’t worthy to be part of the body of Christ. Both attitudes are harmful since they both can lead us to separate ourselves from our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The truth is that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But Jesus continues to forgive us and draw us together as one body in him. May we always be amazed and grateful for what he has done to heal us and make us whole!
“Jesus thank you for your never-ending mercy toward me.” (Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler discusses how the priesthood of Ezekiel connects to the passage about the return of the Divine Presence to the Temple. The phylacteries on the wrist and forehead of the Pharisees reminding them of action and thoughts for God became decorative and huge. Friar Jude reminds us of the use of Jewish exaggeration in Matthew as Jesus urges us not to make any person the center of our lives.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, summarizes the week about suffering by turning to the ancient tradition of lament. He shares a prayer from Latina activist and pastor Rev. Sandra Maria Van Opstal who invites us to share with God our heartbreak at the world’s suffering, and ask “How long, O Lord?”
How long, Lord?
How long must we cry out?
How long must the vulnerable sit silent as bombs,
guns, cages, natural disasters threaten lives?
How long must we hear the agonizing silence of so
many in the church?
How long, Lord?
Are you listening? Yes? You do! You do? You do
see us! You do hear us!
(insert time to ugly cry)
We believe you are at work bringing peace. True
peace—flourishing, wholeness, and well-being. . . .
We believe and we feel overwhelmed—sometimes
it is hard to believe that you actually care about
the injustice and suffering. When we don’t see
your work. When we sense the apathy from
the church. When we feel small and forget that
we were designed to be different and make
things different.
When we feel overwhelmed by darkness in the
world—the violence, injustice, poverty,
oppression, abuse.
Give us hope not to be overcome.
Give us eyes to see your goodness for our world.
Give us the strength to hold the pain of injustice in
our world and faith that it will end.
Give us courage to be honest with ourselves about
why and how we are doing justice.
We believe. So. Empower us to disrupt our broken
thinking by learning truth from diverse leaders.
Enable us to discover the beauty of justice and
inspire action in others. Embolden us to display
your goodness in the world. . . . (Rohr, n.d.)
We are prompted by the Spirit to seek humility as the Way in which we move into a deeper relationship with God and our companions on the journey.
References
Burke, E. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/082022.html
Ezekiel, CHAPTER 43. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/43?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 23. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/23?1
Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/20/471584/
Psalms, PSALM 85. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/85?9
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/suffering-weekly-summary-2022-08-20/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Whoever Humbles Oneself Will Be Exalted. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug20
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