Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 - 2nd Week of Lent - Tues
[Isa 1:10, 16-20 and Matt 23:1-12]Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow. [Isaiah] The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. [Matthew]
The Gospel According to Matthew was composed for a predominantly Jewish-Christian community. The highest religious authorities in that community were the Pharisees and scribes. The Pharisees, as a rule, prided themselves on strict observance of the Mosaic Law - the Torah. The scribes were experts on the details of that tradition in addition to being among the few who could read and write in a mostly illiterate population. They could write contracts and handle formal transactions that required written documentation! In the passage from Matthew today, Jesus acknowledges the position of influence of the scribes and Pharisees but accuses them of abusing their status in order to enrich themselves: "For they preach but they do not practice." This may be one of the most quoted lines from the gospel in common parlance: "Practice what you preach!!!!"
Jesus challenges all religious authority to humility and service, especially to the most vulnerable sectors of human society. In that time, widows and orphans were considered to be truly vulnerable because they would have no one to care for them. But they were not alone in that regard. We know from the gospels that the scribes and Pharisees excluded large classes of people from consideration by labeling them "unclean" according to some interpretation of the Mosaic Law, thus creating burdens that were difficult to carry.
Jesus teaches that all religious authority must be characterized by service to those who depend on them for leadership. The "weaponizing" (a word we hear a lot now) of religious observances and regulations to maintain a social or ideological status in the church is clearly denounced. Gospel values must be the light in which catechism and canon law are interpreted and used. Jesus and Isaiah are watching! AMEN