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Saturday – Twentieth Week – OT2
Readings: Eze 43:1-7a; Mt 23:1-12.
Reading 1 (Eze 43:1-7a):
The angel led me to the gate which faces the east,
and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel
coming from the east.
I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters,
and the earth shone with his glory.
The vision was like that which I had seen
when he came to destroy the city,
and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar.
I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple
by way of the gate which faces the east,
but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court.
And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.
Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple,
while the man stood beside me.
The voice said to me:
Son of man, this is where my throne shall be,
this is where I will set the soles of my feet;
here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever.
Gospel (Mt 23:1-12):
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the 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 tie 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.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Fr. Anthony Dinh Minh Tien, O.P.
I. THEME: God prefers sincere intention, not showy display.
God always requires people to pay attention in their spiritual life more than liturgical ceremonies on a large scale, to their intimate relation with Him and the keeping of His commandments more than honorary titles and the observation of human customs.
Today readings remind people of these basic things. In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel reminded the Israelites of God’s presence in the temple so that they shouldn’t let it become impure as their kings and forefathers. In the Gospel, Jesus advised people to pay attention to the doctrine which the Pharisees and the scribes taught them, not to what they did because they didn’t practice what they taught.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: God’s glory returned and covered the temple.
1.1/ The temple shall be rebuilt after the exile: Many prophets such as: Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel foretold that God shall let the remnant of Israel be back to their nation after the exile. The most important thing they need to do when they return from the exile is to rebuild the temple so that God shall dwell in their midst to teach and to protect them. In the past, Israel committed two serious sins. First, they paid too much attention to the temple and forgot about God’s presence in it. Secondly, they were more concerned to outside ceremonies and forgot about practicing justice and charity.
In today vision, Ezekiel warned the Israelites that the temple is purely a senseless object when God’s presence is no longer in it. Once there is no presence of God, the temple is just like other buildings. There are two visions about the temple in the Book of Ezekiel. In the first vision at Chebar river (1:1-28), he saw God’s glory leaving the temple before the Babylonians come to destroy it. In today vision, he saw that God’s glory reappears and covers the temple. This symbol means that God shall dwell in their midst again.
1.2/ God’s presence in the new temple: Once the new temple has been built, there is a need to have God’s presence. The prophet Ezekiel was guaranteed of this when the spirit lifted him up and brought him to the inner court of the temple. There he saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord. Then a voice said to him: “Son of man, this is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the Israelites forever. Never again shall they and their kings profane my holy name with their harlotries and with the corpses of their kings.”
One thing people need to remember is that God is the most Holy One, He can’t live with sins; therefore, people can only have Him or the devil. If the temple or the people in the temple become impure, they no longer have God with them. In the past, the Israel kings made the temple impure by their presence in the temple or the altars of high places.
2/ Gospel: Listen to their teaching but don’t do what they do.
2.1/ The limited value of pure knowledge: A Vietnamese proverb says, “Talking can make people to think, but practicing can draw them to do it.” This proverb means that talking can show people the truth, but practicing what one talked can attract people to do the truth. The perfect leaders are the ones who know how to use both their words and deeds to motivate others to do what they want. However, if one can’t find such leaders, the leaders in words also have their limited effect as Jesus pointed out today: “The scribes and the 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.”
2.2/ The scribes and the Pharisees’ bad habits: Jesus accused them of the followings:
(1) They are both lawmakers and judges to punish those who violate the law. They promulgated so many unnecessary laws, such as: washing hands before eating and paying tax for growing mint leaves, etc. Jesus accused them that “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.”
(2) They do good deeds in front of people: All the religious deeds they do, not because of God but for people to see and to praise them. Though wearing phylacteries and tassels during prayer are obligatory to remind them that they must continually remember that God is their only One (phylacteries, Exo 13:16, x/c Deut 6:8, 11:18; tassels: Num 15:37-41, Deut 22:12); but they expanded their phylacteries bigger and their tassels longer to attract people’s attention.
(3) They love places of honor at banquets and seats of honor in synagogues: At banquets, they expect the most important seats; for example, to seat on the right or on the left of the host or in the same table with important persons. In Jewish synagogues, the front seats are preserved for the elders and the important people. They want these seats to show people that they are important and for others to pay attention to what they wear and the things they do.
(4) They like to be greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ The scribes and the Pharisees want people to treat them as the primary citizens, more than parents of people. They explained that the parents of people are physical benefactors (giving them a body) while they are spiritual benefactor, and spiritual is more important than physical.
Why did Jesus prevent his disciples to call other “Rabbi, father or leader?” Jesus intended to remind his disciple not to idolize anyone as their god, except God only. Jesus didn’t prohibit to call our earthly father as “father;” but don’t consider them as equal to God. Lastly, Jesus taught his disciples about the standard of God’s judging of value: “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– The temple or churches are places for God’s dwelling. Whenever we come to these places, we need to have a respected and humble attitude to learn and to pray to God. These places aren’t for religious or talent shows so others can see and admire us; should never be places to show our attract body or the fashion show to get people’s attention.
– We have a valid reason not to follow leaders only by words; but their knowledge also has a limited value. We should follow what they said, but don’t do what they did.
– Our body is also God’s dwelling place. We need to pay attention to God’s presence in our mind and love the inside beauty instead of outside and showy display.