Humility and Authority

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, challenge us to patience and humility as we strive to understand how we respond to the inequalities and injustice in our environment.

Saint Mary's Cathedral Basilica

The Reading from the Prophet Ezekiel proclaims The Glory of the Lord Returns

a. [43:1] 1 Chr 9:18.

b. [43:4] cf. Ez 10:19.

c. [43:5] cf. Ez 11:24.

d. [43:7] 1 Chr 28:2; Ps 132:7; Is 6:1; Jer 3:17. (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 43 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 85 presents the people who wait humbly with open hearts. God will be active on their behalf.

* [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 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew presents the Denunciation of the 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.

* [23:2–3] Have taken their seat…Moses: it is uncertain whether this is simply a metaphor for Mosaic teaching authority or refers to an actual chair on which the teacher sat. It has been proved that there was a seat so designated in synagogues of a later period than that of this gospel. Do and observe…they tell you: since the Matthean Jesus abrogates Mosaic law (Mt 5:31–42), warns his disciples against the teaching of the Pharisees (Mt 14:1–12), and, in this speech, denounces the Pharisees as blind guides in respect to their teaching on oaths (Mt 23:16–22), this commandment to observe all things whatsoever they (the scribes and Pharisees) tell you cannot be taken as the evangelist’s understanding of the proper standard of conduct for his church. The saying may reflect a period when the Matthean community was largely Jewish Christian and was still seeking to avoid a complete break with the synagogue. Matthew has incorporated this traditional material into the speech in accordance with his view of the course of salvation history, in which he portrays the time of Jesus’ ministry as marked by the fidelity to the law, although with significant pointers to the new situation that would exist after his death and resurrection (see note on Mt 5:17–20). The crowds and the disciples (Mt 23:1) are exhorted not to follow the example of the Jewish leaders, whose deeds do not conform to their teaching (Mt 23:3).

* [23:4] Tie up heavy burdens: see note on Mt 11:28.

* [23:5] To the charge of preaching but not practicing (Mt 23:3), Jesus adds that of acting in order to earn praise. The disciples have already been warned against this same fault (see note on Mt 6:1–18). Phylacteries: the Mosaic law required that during prayer small boxes containing parchments on which verses of scripture were written be worn on the left forearm and the forehead (see Ex 13:9, 16; Dt 6:8; 11:18). Tassels: see note on Mt 9:20. The widening of phylacteries and the lengthening of tassels were for the purpose of making these evidences of piety more noticeable.

* [23:6–7] Cf. Mk 12:38–39. ‘Rabbi’: literally, “my great one,” a title of respect for teachers and leaders.

* [23:8–12] These verses, warning against the use of various titles, are addressed to the disciples alone. While only the title ‘Rabbi’ has been said to be used in addressing the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:7), the implication is that Father and ‘Master’ also were. The prohibition of these titles to the disciples suggests that their use was present in Matthew’s church. The Matthean Jesus forbids not only the titles but the spirit of superiority and pride that is shown by their acceptance. Whoever exalts…will be exalted: cf. Lk 14:11. (Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB, n.d.)

Molly Mattingly comments that today’s readings set humility and glory alongside each other. 

While they are on such different ends of a spectrum for us, it seems they are very close to each other for God. Why might that be? I think one of the Ignatian catchphrases, “finding God in all things,” gets at this. Where only two or three are gathered, God is there. What brings people close to God is glorified. God is not so limited as to be absent from the small and ordinary.

Friends in ministry have referred to themselves along the way as “glorified event planners” or “Jesus’ party planners.” How might glory shine through the mundane tasks of grocery shopping for a retreat, tracking attendance and registrations in spreadsheets, sending emails, printing resources, etc.? How might glory shine through the mundane tasks in your daily life? What will all those boring details look like, glorified, in light of how they allowed people to encounter Christ? (Mattingly, 2026)

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.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12 comments that St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897)’s story tells us that we don’t become humble all at once. It takes time to learn how to cooperate with God’s grace. It takes practice—and trial and error—to develop the habit of relying on the Lord rather than on our own ability.

It’s true that humility is not easy to come by. But don’t let that discourage you. Remember Thérèse. Remember the grace of God that is always flowing from the wounded side of Christ. Jesus wants to help you resist the temptations to prideful thoughts and self-centered actions, so let him. Let him teach you how to humble yourself so that you can “be exalted” by him (Matthew 23:12)!

“Lord, teach me how to live in humility, no matter what I face! (Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12, n.d.)

Father Richard Rohr introduces Abby Norman who considers how the prophet Ezekiel used radical symbolic action to draw attention to injustice.

God constantly invites us to a new way, and always, the first step of that invitation is to lament the way things are now…. I believe our imagination is our greatest asset when it comes to seeing how the ways of the world can change into the ways of God, but we cannot get there if we first do not understand that God isn’t happy about the way things are now. We lament so that we can then imagine a better way.(Rohr, n.d.)

We invoke the Holy Spirit to enlighten our understanding of the acceptance of our mission in accord with the humility and faith of Queen Mary to declare “Let it be done, according to Your Will”

References

Ezekiel, CHAPTER 43 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/43?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/23?1 

Mattingly, M. (2026, August 22). Daily Reflection August 22, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-22-2026 

Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/08/21/1651581/ 

Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/85?9 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). The Hebrew Prophets: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-hebrew-prophets-weekly-summary/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Whoever Humbles Oneself Will Be Exalted. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Shining Light of Hope

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, invite us to contemplate the vision of the glory of God as hope for fulfillment in our lives.

the light always shines

The Reading from the Book of Daniel is included in the vision of The Beasts and the Judgment.

* [7:9–10] A vision of the heavenly throne of God (the Ancient of Days), who sits in judgment over the nations. Some of the details of the vision, depicting the divine majesty and omnipotence, are to be found in Ezekiel 1. Others are paralleled in 1 Enoch, a contemporary Jewish apocalypse.

* [7:13–14] One like a son of man: In contrast to the worldly kingdoms opposed to God, which are represented as grotesque beasts, the coming Kingdom of God is represented by a human figure. Scholars disagree as to whether this figure should be taken as a collective symbol for the people of God (cf. 7:27) or identified as a particular individual, e.g., the archangel Michael (cf. 12:1) or the messiah. The phrase “Son of Man” becomes a title for Jesus in the gospels, especially in passages dealing with the Second Coming (Mk 13 and parallels). (Daniel, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 97 begins with God appearing in a storm.

* [Psalm 97] The hymn begins with God appearing in a storm, a traditional picture of some ancient Near Eastern gods (Ps 97:1–6); cf. Ps 18:8–16; Mi 1:3–4; Heb 3:3–15. Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous (Ps 97:10–12). (Psalms, PSALM 97 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the Second Letter of Peter proclaims the Apostolic Witness.

* [1:16] Coming: in Greek parousia, used at 2 Pt 3:4, 12 of the second coming of Christ. The word was used in the extrabiblical writings for the visitation of someone in authority; in Greek cult and Hellenistic Judaism it was used for the manifestation of the divine presence. That the apostles made known has been interpreted to refer to Jesus’ transfiguration (2 Pt 1:17) or to his entire first coming or to his future coming in power (2 Pt 3).

* [1:17] The author assures the readers of the reliability of the apostolic message (including Jesus’ power, glory, and coming; cf. note on 2 Pt 1:16) by appeal to the transfiguration of Jesus in glory (cf. Mt 17:1–8 and parallels) and by appeal to the prophetic message (2 Pt 1:19; perhaps Nm 24:17). Here, as elsewhere, the New Testament insists on continued reminders as necessary to preserve the historical facts about Jesus and the truths of the faith; cf. 2 Pt 3:1–2; 1 Cor 11:2; 15:1–3. My Son, my beloved: or, “my beloved Son.”

* [1:18] We: at Jesus’ transfiguration, referring to Peter, James, and John (Mt 17:1). (2 Peter, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke presents The Transfiguration of Jesus.

* [9:28–36] Situated shortly after the first announcement of the passion, death, and resurrection, this scene of Jesus’ transfiguration provides the heavenly confirmation to Jesus’ declaration that his suffering will end in glory (Lk 9:32); see also notes on Mt 17:1–8 and Mk 9:2–8.

* [9:28] Up the mountain to pray: the “mountain” is the regular place of prayer in Luke (see Lk 6:12; 22:39–41).

* [9:30] Moses and Elijah: the two figures represent the Old Testament law and the prophets. At the end of this episode, the heavenly voice will identify Jesus as the one to be listened to now (Lk 9:35). See also note on Mk 9:5.

* [9:31] His exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem: Luke identifies the subject of the conversation as the exodus of Jesus, a reference to the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus that will take place in Jerusalem, the city of destiny (see Lk 9:51). The mention of exodus, however, also calls to mind the Israelite Exodus from Egypt to the promised land.

* [9:32] They saw his glory: the glory that is proper to God is here attributed to Jesus (see Lk 24:26).

* [9:33] Let us make three tents: in a possible allusion to the feast of Tabernacles, Peter may be likening his joy on the occasion of the transfiguration to the joyful celebration of this harvest festival.

* [9:34] Over them: it is not clear whether them refers to Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, or to the disciples. For the cloud casting its shadow, see note on Mk 9:7.

* [9:35] Like the heavenly voice that identified Jesus at his baptism prior to his undertaking the Galilean ministry (Lk 3:22), so too here before the journey to the city of destiny is begun (Lk 9:51) the heavenly voice again identifies Jesus as Son. Listen to him: the two representatives of Israel of old depart (Lk 9:33) and Jesus is left alone (Lk 9:36) as the teacher whose words must be heeded (see also Acts 3:22).

* [9:36] At that time: i.e., before the resurrection. (Luke, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Kent Beausoleil, SJ, comments that we find affirmed yet again that Jesus IS God’s chosen son; and so we ‘need to listen to him’.   Why, because ‘the light always shines’.

That, as Christ had to suffer his death, we all suffer the little deaths of life, and these things can be terrifying, so we stand with the disciples at times terrified.   Yet, as people of faith, as children of God, as saints, we also hold dear that the greater reality, the greater power, is that Christ’s light does forever shine, love is always resurrected, and this is our sure and unfailing hope.  The light always shines. 

God calls Jesus his beloved son. God in Christ Jesus and through the Holy Spirit shower their love on us and mark us as beloved daughters and sons as well. The light of divine love always shines and we shine with the light of Christ, as we love as well.  And so, on this Feast of the Transfiguration, to love someone else, to really love them, is to transform them and ourselves into Christ like divine presence.  The light always shines. (Beausoleil, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “The transfiguration of Jesus,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

"Do you wish to see the transfiguration of Jesus? Behold with me the Jesus of the Gospels. Let him be simply apprehended. There he is beheld both 'according to the flesh' and at the same time in his true divinity. He is beheld in the form of God according to our capacity for knowledge. This is how he was beheld by those who went up upon the lofty mountain to be apart with him. Meanwhile those who do not go up the mountain can still behold his works and hear his words, which are uplifting. It is before those who go up that Jesus is transfigured, and not to those below. When he is transfigured, his face shines as the sun, that he may be manifested to the children of light, who have put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12). They are no longer the children of darkness or night but have become the children of day. They walk honestly as in the day. Being manifested, he will shine to them not simply as the sun but as he is demonstrated to be, the sun of righteousness." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 12.37.10) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today. In Daniel 7, the Ancient of Days encounters the Son of Man. The people of Israel at this time were persecuted by the Seleucid Emperor. Jesus uses the term Son of Man for Himself in addition to the Songs of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah. Second Peter is dated to between 100 -120 AD. Peter died in 67AD and the letter is  attributed to Peter to give more authority by someone who witnessed the Transfiguration. In Luke, Jesus takes the big three, Peter, James, and John up a mountain to pray. (Mt Tabor traditionally) Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets. With Enoch they appear in apocalyptic works and share unusual deaths to attribute the ability to reveal the heavens to them. Peter responds to build three tents as the Holy of Hoiies during this theophany and a cloud and a voice affirm Jesus is the chosen one of God. The Apostles experience a glimpse to give them strength in the journey and death of Jesus. Friar Jude reminds us that in our luminous moments we experience the Real Presence of God and are transported for a little while to give us strength and hope.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan who describes how Jesus’ parables invited listeners to find wisdom in their daily agricultural circumstances.

The imagery and cadence we find in the aphorisms and parables of Jesus are those of a gifted storyteller who reached his listeners through colorful but cryptic symbols, curious riddles, and circular plots that engaged listeners as participants in the process of making the story whole. There was no need for Jesus to stand behind a podium or pulpit to pontificate. Instead, he interacted with his listeners’ hearts and minds in a manner that became integral to the story itself. The only way the story could be made whole and would make wounded listeners whole was by engaging them with deep participation. (Rohr, n.d.)

We ponder the awe expressed by Peter in the Transfiguration as we find hope for our lives in the journey of Jesus from predicted suffering to eternal glory. 

References

Beausoleil, K. (2025, August 6). Daily Reflection August 6, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-6-2025 

Daniel, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/7?9 

Luke, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?28 

Psalms, PSALM 97 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/97?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-wisdom-of-parables/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). This is My Son, the Beloved - Listen to Him! Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=aug6a 

2 Peter, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2peter/1?16