Alberic Jacovone OSB
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YEAR A
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY - 30.10.05
Mal 1,14-2,2.8-10; 1 Thess 2,7-9.13; Mt 23,1-12
Humble servants & Christian Leaders
Live
for God alone.
In our reading of Matthew, this is the last Sunday when Jesus keeps us in the
Temple of Jerusalem, addressing Religious Leaders of his time. Here, Matthew confronts religious leaders of all time: Torah-Teachers & leaders of
any group &... us.
Of Chapter 23, we read only verses 1 - 11, leaving out the harsh
‘Seven Woes of Jesus’ which Matthew sets out as a contrast to the ‘Seven
Beatitudes of Jesus’. Sadly, Jesus’ “Seven Woes” have been used too
often in history, when Christians have lashes against each other. Today, let
each of us engage in a humble exercise: let’s read in full Chapter 23 of
Matthew, & then let’s ponder prayerfully on each of the “Seven Woes” (Mt
23,15-36):
Who knows?... in the exercise of our leadership, we may discover some subtle
ways whereby we would well deserve a harsh reprimand from our Lord - & fail
to be God’s humble servants... we might even find that at times our
expectations may cause hurt. Like it or not, there hides in each of us a
hypocritical bend to manipulate, demand & expect, under some ostentatious
self-righteousness: (Jesus uses the imagery of “wearing broad
phylacteries (t’fillin) & long
ritual fringes (tzi’tzi’yot)”).
Against each of the “Seven woes” are named seven serious evils against which
we Christians are warned:
1. Hypocrisy or saying one thing & operating at another level for
ourselves. 2. Doing one thing & seeking a manipulative outcome for
ourselves. 3. Meticulously setting rules for others & arguing a way out for
ourselves. 4. Being insensitive, vindictive & hurting towards others. 5.
lacking compassion & imposing burdens on others. 6. Doing things for
spectacle, to draw people’s attention. 7. Being arrogant & abusive in the
game of belittling people. The “Seven woes of Jesus” a passionate denunciation
of evil tendencies in our human nature: double standards, trappings of power,
manipulations, causing hurt.
The
charge of hypocrisy
has constantly been laid against leaders in the Church. Every time there has
been violent confrontation & protest against Rome or Catholic authority,
there has come the bitter charge of hypocrisy laid against opposing sides of
Christianity, & always the language of the “seven woes of Jesus”, has
angrily been used to lay the accusation. Verses 8-10 ‘Call no man your father
upon the earth’ have been for centuries the Protestant proof text to denounce
the language of Catholic hierarchy, with titles such as ‘Pope-papa &
priest-father; and to demand the abolition all Monastic & Religious Orders.
Christian Feminists have found the text even more conflictual, because it seems
to exclude a feminine dimension in God, thus legitimise ecclesial & societal
patriarchy. Martin Luther (1520AD) made use of verse 33 to justify his attack
against Pope Leo X, calling him
‘the most Holy Father in God’. Jesus’
words where he denounced the Pharisees as ‘whitened sepulchres’ in verse 27
have been widely used against the Catholic teaching on Indulgences... Finally,
Chapter 23 closed with a desolate longing where Jesus pleads: Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, house that kills the prophets...’. These words refer obliquely to
the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple by the Roman army, in 70AD. They also
seem to show a sense of patriotic love for country in the heart of Jesus.
Tragically, Jerusalem is still a place where atrocities & terrorism
occur from time to time.
Matthew’s
lesson: no leader can afford to be
lapse about corruption or naive know-all. When it comes to the crunch, God alone
matters, & Jesus, who as God’s Son, is our Teacher - Master
- Catechist: under him we are all fellow students, servants & waiters.
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