Thirty first Sunday in Ordinary time – Year A
DEVOUT AND RELIGIOUS, BUT FAR FROM GOD
Introduction
At the time of Jesus, there were many Jewish sects. Some are also mentionedin the Gospels: the Sadducees, the Herodian, the Pharisees, the Essenes, the Zealots... All of them disappeared except the Pharisees, who survived the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the catastrophe of 70 A.D. Without the Pharisees, Israel would no longer exist.
When we hear of them, the invective of Jesus immediately resounds in our ears: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.” But were the members of thissect really a repository of evil and wickedness? The people worshiped them for their knowledge of the sacred Scriptures and their ascetic austerity. They were consideredlegitimate masters, enlightened leaders and, without their support, it was not possible towin the sympathy and the consent of the people.
They were faithful to God and respectful of all moral laws, which they scrupulously and blamelessly observed. They would have been the religious group closer to Jesus. Instead, they became his fiercest opponents. How so? Some of them—perhapsmany—from the early years of the Church were converted (Acts 15:5). However, entering the Christian community brought the legalistic mentality, religious formalism, moral rigor, the conviction of obtaining salvation by their good works. Above all, their image of God was a stern and strict judge, incompatible with the God preached by Jesus.
The Pharisees are not missing. They will never disappear because ‘a Pharisee’ is hidden in every disciple. When he re-emerges, he spreads his yeast of death, a yeast against which one must be on guard (Mt 16:6).
"The Pharisee is devout, religious, blameless,
and yet, paradoxically, away from God."
First Reading: Malachi 1:14b–2:2b,8-10
The author of the book of Malachi lives in a time of religious decline. Returning fromBabylon, the Israelites commit themselves, even if somewhat grudgingly, to rebuilding the temple. Then, because of the serious difficulties encountered, they are discouraged. Theylose confidence in God; they neglect prayer and fall into religious apathy. The consequence is the decline of moral life. Corruption reigns all around. Injustice is rife; divorce is on the rise, and workers are exploited. Many are resigned to their fate, butMalachi, an anonymous prophet, which means ‘angel of the Lord,’ acts to remedy thedeplorable situation. He first identifies those responsible: they are the priests of the temple, guilty of serious crimes.
The prophet's indictment begins with the complaint of their lack of fidelity to the performance of his religious obligations. They offered blind animals to the Lord, lame lambs, sick kids, and stolen animals (Mal 1:8-14). It is true that, unlike the pagan gods, the God of Israel has never asked for sacrifices or burnt offerings. Through the mouth of the priest, he said: "I need no bull from your stalls, nor he-goat from your pens. I need not tell you if I were hungry, for mine is the world and all that it contains." (Ps 50:9-12).
However, even useless gifts (we make many of them) express feelings and emotions and, if they are to be given, they must be chosen with care. In offering defective, disabledand deformed victims, the priests were seeking profit. They were cutting corners andpocketing the benefit from the donations of the faithful. Thus, they were cultivating inpeople the idea that God was insignificant, petty and that we could make fun of him.
The reading begins with a solemn intervention of the Lord who presents himself in all his majesty: "For I am a great King, and my name is respected through all the nations"(Mal 1:14). It is the image that man must have of God if he does not want to recoil onhimself and his own pettiness.
A tough punishment awaits the priests for having given the people an extremelydeformed image of God. They will be deprived of the sweetest and perhaps the most appreciated of their duties, being mediators of the Lord’s blessings. Their blessings will not only be rendered ineffective but will turn into curses (v. 2).
In the second part of the reading (vv. 8-10), the priests are accused of an even greater crime. As Malachi said, “The lips of the priest speak of knowledge and the Law must be found in his mouth” (v. 7). Their duty was to point the people on the journey of life. They, instead, have strayed from the right path and, by their teaching, caused the people whotrusted them to stumble. To protect the simple people from this deception, God intervenes and exposes their hypocrisy and promises: “I let all the people despise you and consider you unworthy.” I will make sure that no one esteems you, that no one respectsyou.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:7b-9,13
In these few verses, Paul outlines his behavior as a messenger of the Gospel. The first feature of his apostolate is dotted with a moving picture. He says to them, “for you Thessalonians, we were gentle with you as a nursing mother (v. 7). And so great is our concern that we are ready to give you even our very life” (v. 8). The second elementcharacterizes Paul as not being in his apostolic activity for himself. With justifiable pride, he recalls having preached the Gospel free of charge: “When we preached the Gospel, we worked day and night so as not to be a burden to you” (v. 9).
The following verses are not found in today’s reading (it is a pity because they highlight an often-misunderstood aspect of the personality of Paul: his tenderness). After reminding the Thessalonians of having behaved towards them as a mother, he says healso was a father: “We warned each of you as a father warns his children; we encouraged you and urged you to adopt a way of life worthy of God who calls you to share his own glory and kingdom” (vv. 11-12). The mothers feed their children—and Paul nurtured the Thessalonians with the food of God’s Word. The fathers educate, and Paul instructs themwith his example. He did not limit himself to encouraging them with words; he set an example and practiced what he taught. Without fear of contradiction, he can affirm: “You are witnesses, with God, that we were holy, just, and blameless toward all of you” (v. 10).
How did the Thessalonians respond to his care? The reading’s last verse tells us: “On receiving our message, you accepted it, not as human teaching, but as the Word of God”(v. 13).
This statement summarizes the three stages of the path that leads to faith. There is, first, the proclamation of the Word of God, which is not communicated by angels or byvisions, but through human messengers, like Paul. Then there is the listening, and finally, adherence to this word which, though transmitted by people, is the Word of God. The apostle applies to himself the words of Jesus: “Whoever listens to you, listens to me, and whoever rejects you, rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects the one who sent me” (Lk 10:16).
The passage offers several points of reflection to those who carry out the ministry of the Word (the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers (Eph 5:11). They are being asked to serve the community with the love and tenderness of a mother: to be life models, to behave in an exemplary manner; as fathers: to provide their services in a disinterested way, without seeking any material benefit.
Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12
If we read the whole chapter from which this passage is taken, we cannot but remainpuzzled by the harsh language used by Jesus. As a mournful refrain, the invective returns to his lips seven times: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.” We are not accustomed to hearing him take a set on people in this way. We also have the impressionthat his threats are excessive. It does not appear that the scribes and Pharisees could be guilty of all the crimes attributed to them. They were proud of and fiery in theirrighteousness, parading it in front of everyone. It is difficult to recognize them in the controversial description Matthew draws. Paul, educated according to the spirituality of this school, boasted that he was “with regard to the Law, a Pharisee. As for being righteous according to the Law, I was blameless” (Philippians 3:4-6); “I have lived as aPharisee—he declared—in the most rigorous sect of our religion” (Acts 26:5), and he wrote to the Romans: “I can testify that they are zealous for God” (Rom 10:2).
Finally, even if their presentation was correct, we wonder what sense it would make today to propose the long list of accusations against the Pharisees of two thousand years ago. It is important to be aware of the literary genre of this page if we do not want to seethe message as not being addressed to the Jews of Jesus’ time but the Christian communities of today. The Master’s words are harsh because the denounced danger isserious. The ‘Pharisee’ is a typical character: he represents a way of thinking, judging, and acting that is contrary to the Gospel; the Pharisees' arguments and beliefs subtly infiltrate the disciples' consciousness.
To approach the text correctly, we first check who Jesus is addressing or directing hisseven terrible ‘woes’ to. The answer seems obvious: the recipients are the scribes and Pharisees of his time. But this is not so. From the first verse of the chapter, it is clear thatJesus is talking to ‘the crowds and his disciples.’ They are the ones at risk of behaving like‘Pharisees.’ We are now being called into question by his reproach.
The proposed passage does not include the most cutting part of the discourse, that of the seven ‘Woe to you’ condemnations. In a dramatic crescendo, they expose the contradiction inherent in self-righteous behavior: from shutting the kingdom of heaven in the people’s face, not entering themselves, and not allowing others access to the killing of the prophets (vv. 13-32). However, these few verses are enough to identify somecharacteristic aspects of Pharisaism and reflect its presence in our communities today.
He is a Pharisee, first of all, who occupies another’s chair (v. 2). A basalt chair was found in the synagogue of Corazim. It was where the scribe in charge of explaining the Scriptures sat. In every synagogue, there was one similar. It was called ‘the chair of Moses’because it was believed that the words spoken by the rabbi from that chair taught the same law to the people that Moses had.
Jesus uses the image of this chair to outline the first negative characteristic of those belonging to the sect of the Pharisees: the abuse of authority. The book of Deuteronomysays that Moses’ successors—those given the charge of conveying the Word of God to the people—are the prophets (Deut 18:15,18). But, in the last centuries before Christ, the scribes quickly and illegally occupied their place after the prophets disappeared. So, the legitimate place of prophecy made by the anointed ones of God was usurped by the rabbis to dictate their prescriptions and provisions, which, consequently, were passed on as ‘word and will of God.’
Today those who reduce the relationship with the Lord to compliance with applicable laws and precepts, which replace prophecy with codes of law, preach a legalism thatstifles spontaneity and takes away the joy of constantly feeling loved and welcomed byGod, are perpetuating the spirituality of the Pharisees.
Verse 3 surprises us because it seems to speak positively of the moral authority of the Pharisees. In the rest of the Gospel, they are systematically criticized: “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees!” recommends Jesus to his disciples (Mt 16:12). This is a direct discouragement from urging people to assimilate their teaching. The verse is to be understood as ironic, as if to say, ‘Follow, follow well their empty and foolish chatter, andyou will soon realize how they distance you from God.’
The second characteristic of the Pharisee is thus highlighted: inconsistency. The Pharisee is anyone who says but does not do. He presents himself as a devout person,speaks acceptable words of love, peace, respect for others, but cleverly avoids getting involved in the principles they put forward. Well-articulated documents and solemn declarations are opportune, but there is also a need to be vigilant so as not to fall into the error they denounce. Requests for the forgiveness of past crimes may be noble, but we should also be aware that today’s evil and reprehensible behavior draws its force from the very same roots.
The third characteristic of the Pharisees is the loading of unbearable burdens on the shoulders of the people (v. 4). It is a mistake with devastating consequences: it reduces the faith and love of God to the practice of religious precepts. The Pharisees preachfidelity to these precepts, but they say we can safely feel okay and at peace with the Lordonce observed. But this throws people into a distressing cycle of the inevitable transgression of laws and cleansing rites, as new, more minute, and detailed laws emerge and are interpreted literally, taking the breath away, making life impossible, and provoking anxiety instead of providing a path to inner peace. Thus, the Jewish religion was born. Empty stone jars represent it. It is a wedding feast without wine, joyless because it lacksany loving, free and confident momentum towards God (Jn 2:1-11).
The scribes, who have imposed these laws, do not move even a finger to help the people, who are crushed by the weight of their requirements. “They do not even raise a finger to move them;” they do not consider reality, nor suggest less rigid interpretation, nor invite a search for the essential (v. 4). Jesus is moved in the face of this situation andtakes action to free the people from this unbearable load: he says, “Come to me all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens, and I will refresh you” (Mt 11:28-30). It isan invitation to choose for ourselves a single, well-suited and light yoke, that of love. EvenPaul recommends: “Do not be in debt to anyone. Let this be the only debt of one to another: Love” (Rom 13:8).
Those who today try to impose on people ‘absurd and intolerable loads,’ who arbitrarily dictate rules, preoccupied with minutiae that Jesus never mentioned, filter out the gnat, and swallow the camel (Mt 23:24) behave like a Pharisee.
The fourth Pharisaical characteristic is exhibitionism (vv. 5-7), the desire to show off.This was a deeply rooted defect that Jesus often denounces, saying once: “How can you believe, you seek praise from one another instead of seeking the glory which comes from the only God” (Jn 5:44). He called hypocrites those who practice good deeds before people to be seen, those who pray standing in the synagogues and on the street cornersto be highly visible, those who fast with a melancholy air so that everyone is aware that they are practicing mortification (Mt 6:1,5,16).
In today’s passage, other tricks with which the Pharisees attempt to gain recognition are described: the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, the widened stripes on their clothing, and the fancier fringes on vestments used during prayer.
Today the desire to attract the people's attention, to have the camera trained onourselves, has not disappeared. They want the good they have done to be emphasizedand publicized and are annoyed when they are not. We can safely say that not allChristians who do good works want it talked about, and they do everything possible to ensure “the left does not know what the right is doing” (Mt 6:3).
In the last part of today’s Gospel (vv. 8-12), the image of the authentic Christian community is drawn, one in which every form of superiority and inequality has been eliminated. It is the opposite of society, both civil and religious, in which class, discrimination, the distinction between superior and subject are recognized and approved. There are also things that we consider important and to which Jesus gave little importance. However, he clarifies and is radical in his criticism of jostling to take the first place, seeking honorary titles, being bowed to, receiving a kiss on the hand, and any type of adulation. It becomes clear that this theme is in his heart and is a central part of his message.
At the Last Supper, the disciples debated who among them should be accounted the greatest. He said: “The kings of the pagan nations and those hardhearted rulers claim the title ‘Gracious Lord’. But not so with you; let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant” (Lk 22:24-26).
It is the reversal of the criteria of this world. Jesus is so concerned that these criteria could emerge or be reintroduced into the Christian community that explicitly prohibits the use of even seemingly innocuous, honorary titles. It mentions three, which were used in his time for honored and respected persons: Rabbi (which means ‘my great…’), father(which means ‘model of life and behavior’) and master (‘spiritual guide’).
There is no need to resort to reductive and conciliatory logic or subtle distinction to justify them. Jesus has spoken unequivocally; his words are among the clearest andperhaps the most overlooked. Today, he would not be any less insistent on this point; he was allergic to ‘Pharisaism’ and would not tolerate it among his disciples, even the slightest sign of it infiltrating a community.
In a Christian community, the only blessed titles are brother, sister, disciple, servant,and those that indicate a ministry or a service. Others should be banned and arousediscomfort, not only among those addressed as such but also among those required to mouth them. It is no coincidence that in the time of the apostolic fathers (until the middleof the second century A.D.), the term ‘father’ was reserved for God. Significantly, Jerome brought the matter up again at the end of the fourth century A.D.: ‘The Lord warned not to call anyone father except God alone. I do not understand then who has authorized the superiors of monasteries to be called ‘Abba’ or how we can allow someone to call us in this way.’
The last words of today’s Gospel reproduce at a glance what is contained in this message: “Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great” (v. 11).
READ: Jesus had continual trouble with the Pharisees of the school of Shammai. He criticizes the mismatch between the words and the acts of spiritual leaders.
REFLECT: In God, the word and the deed are perfectly identical. What God utters is. In our human lives, we often struggle with the mismatch of our words and deeds. Whether in marriage, priesthood, or religious life, we solemnly profess vows and commitments, but in living them, we may fail to varying degrees. However, we shall not be found wanting to match our words with our deeds in our sincere desire and effort. God, who sees the heart, will be the judge of our authenticity.
PRAY: Saying one thing and living another is hypocrisy. Pray that you may not live behind a mask.
ACT: If you ‘talk the talk,’ ‘walk the walk.’ Look at yourself in the mirror and say: If God forgives me, I forgive myself. Then live what you believe, at least for today.
