Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 26, 2023 - Saturday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17 and Matt 23:1-12]Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair 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. They lay up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen." [Matthew]
Jesus' condemnation of the religious authorities of his time has found its way into common parlance: "Practice what you preach!" Chapter 23 of the Gospel According to Matthew is an extended condemnation of the hypocrisy he found in the scribes and Pharisees of his time. Similar denunciations may be found in Mark and Luke. It was not that there was anything wrong with being a Pharisee or a scribe. It was the abuse of power and the manipulation of observances for selfish purposes as well as ignoring the suffering caused by their rigid interpretations of the Mosaic Law. "They lay up burdens hard to carry...." An example would be their disapproval of Jesus healing on the sabbath. Some of them were apparently taking advantage of vulnerable widows and others to enrich themselves.
While the Gospel According to Matthew was written many centuries ago and directed to a Jewish-Christian community, chapter 23 was and still is a warning to anyone in leadership in the Church. But it is not just a matter of leaders, but regular Christians as well. As a pastor and preacher, I have encountered earnest and eager Catholics who have acquainted themselves with all the details of liturgical celebration and are more than willing to call the celebrant's attention to any "deviation." I love Jesus' expression, no doubt common at the time, "They strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!"
The abuse of religious power has caused some terrible things, not least in the matter of sexual abuse by clerics and others in positions of "power." We are all called to an examination of conscience in regard to the way we establish "rules and regulations" and how we use "respect for the office" to our own advantage (clericalism). Reading chapter 23 of the Gospel According to Matthew might make a good retreat experience! AMEN