Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 23, 2008 - St. Rose of Lima - Dominican Laywoman
[Ezekiel 43:1-7AB and Matthew 23:1-12]The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
As the Gospel of Matthew gets closer to its end, the dramatic tension begins to build because Jesus is shown to be taking dead aim at the Jewish religious authorities and elite of Jerusalem - the "creme de la creme" as it were. In this passage, the aim is very direct. He ratifies their right to teach in the tradition of Moses, but he deplores their example and gives graphic reasons. I particularly respond to the line: They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on eople's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. When I give priests' retreats, I remind them (and any bishop in the audience) about that line. There is a difference between the moral demands made by Jesus, which are very challenging, and some of the Church-invented disciplinary rules established to enshrine Jesus' demands. The danger is that the Church can make it more difficult. Jesus' formula for authority and power is considerably different from the way many of his time and ours see it. How many "bosses" see themselves as "servants" of those who are their "inferiors?" Are "authority" and "power" supposed to be OVER or are they supposed to be FOR or WITH? Those prepositions are important! Jesus accuses the scribes and Pharisees of being exploitative and oppressive. But we'd better take note. The gospel is meant to be for all ages! AMEN (Note: August 23 marks the sixth anniversary of the start of Word to the Wise)
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