Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 25, 2012 - Saturday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 43:1-7ab and Matt 23:1-12]"The scribes and Pharisees have taken their seat on the throne of Moses. Therefore do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.........The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Chapter 23 of the Gospel of Matthew is a blistering collection of criticisms by Jesus against the leadership of the Jewish community of the time. It probably was not all delivered at one time but Matthew collects it in the context of Jesus' final days in Jerusalem to serve a dramatic purpose! However, there is a second purpose in the whole speech. That purpose is to warn the disciples of Matthew's community of the pitfalls that religious power can bring. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus shows his Jewish respect for the Mosaic law and institutions, but he has little respect for those who held positions of leadership at the time. "They preach but they do not practice." After a long list of "woes" he concludes with a series of statements that warn the disciples about power-seeking, and the last lines, quoted above sum it all up.
I once saw a sign that read: "No one is completely worthless. They can always serve as a bad example!" The religious leadership in Jesus' day is attacked for their bad example. We should expect a high standard of integrity from religious and civil leadership. That we don't always get that example is why we read the words in the gospel for today. AMEN