Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 - Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent
[Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 and Matthew 23:1-12]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.
Isaiah and Jesus both take aim in today's scriptures at people in leadership positions who use those positions to advance their prestige and wealth while ignoring the crying needs of the most vulnerable of their people! Jesus makes clear that only the one who is humble will be exalted. A close look at the behavior condemned by Jesus shows that it is not just religious leaders who are dangerous to us, but public servants (whom we often call politicians). "They preach but they do not practice." "They tie up heavy burdens...etc." "All their works are performed to be seen." "They love places of honor at banquets....." Catholics who hold public office are beginning to realize that they cannot compartmentalize their faith and their service apart from one another! Whether the question be one of health care (abortion, birth control, euthanasia) or programs for "widows and orphans," our Catholic tradition has a profound respect for ALL human life as having been created by God. Any Catholic who seeks public office (or to serve as a minister: priest, deacon, lay ecclesial minister) must come to that position of service as a Catholic and not as an office holder who happens to be Catholic. Any other way simply results in the abuses attacked by Isaiah and Jesus. AMEN