“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily Reflections
Sunday, 5th November 2017.
Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time
Mal 1:4 – 2:2, 8-10;
Ps 130: 1-3;
1Thes2:7-9, 13;
Mt 23:1-12
THE PHARISEE IN US!
In the First Reading, the author of the book of Malachi lives in a time of religious decline. Returning from Babylon, the Israelites commit themselves, even if rather grudgingly, to rebuild the temple. Then, because of the serious difficulties encountered, they are discouraged. They lose confidence in God, neglect prayer and they fall into religious apathy. The consequence is the decline of moral life. Corruption reigns in all environments. Injustices are committed; divorces are multiplied, the workers are exploited. At this time, an anonymous prophet called Malachi, whose name means “angel of the Lord,” acts to remedy the deplorable situation. He identifies first of all the responsible ones: they are the priests of the temple, guilty of serious crimes. The indictment of the prophet begins with the complaint of their unfaithfulness in the performance of religious function. They offered to the Lord blind animals, lame lambs, sick kids, stolen animals (Mal 1:8-14). Offering defective, crippled and deformed victims, the priests were seeking profit. They were pretending to save and deriving benefits from the donations of the faithful. Thus they were cultivating in people the idea that God was insignificant, petty, and that we could make fun of him. In the second part of the reading, the priests are accused of an even greater crime. Their duty was to point to the people the journey of life. They, instead, have strayed from the right path and, by their teaching, caused the people who trusted them to stumble. God intervenes and exposes their hypocrisy and promises: I will make sure that no one esteems you, that no one respects you.
In the Gospel, we cannot but remain puzzled by the harsh language used by Jesus: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.” We are not accustomed to hearing him punctuate on people in this way. It is important to be aware of the literary genre of this passage, if one wants to reflect on the message as addressed not only to the Jews of Jesus’ time, but to Christian communities of today. The Master’s words are harsh because the denounced danger is serious. Jesus is directing his “woes”, not only to the scribes and Pharisees of his time. He was talking to “the crowds and his disciples (Mt 23:1), since they were are at risk of behaving like “Pharisees.” We are all now being called into question by his reproaches.
The Pharisee, first of all, was one who occupied another’s chair. In each synagogue was “the chair of Moses,” which was used by the scribe in charge of explaining the Scriptures. The words of the rabbi who was sitting there, signified Moses teaching the law to the people. Jesus uses the image of this chair to outline the abuse of authority. The law which was a symbol of relationship with the Lord, was reduced to compliance with applicable laws and precepts, and had reduced spontaneity and takes away the joy of feeling always loved and welcomed by God, are perpetuating the spirituality of the Pharisees.
The second characteristic of the Pharisee is inconsistency. Pharisee is anyone who says and does not do. He is every devout person, who speaks fine words on love, peace, respect of others, but cleverly avoids to get involved with these statements.
The third characteristic of the Pharisees is the loading of unbearable burdens on the shoulders of the people. They reduced the faith and love of God to the practice of religion. They imposed laws, inevitable transgressions, cleansing rites, making life impossible, provoking anxiety instead of leading to inner peace. Thus the Jewish religion is represented by empty stone jars. It is a wedding feast without wine, joyless because it lacks the loving, free and confident momentum towards God (Jn 2:1-11).The scribes who have imposed these laws do not move even a finger to help the people, crushed by the weight of those requirements.
The fourth characteristic of the Pharisees is exhibitionism, the desire to show off. Jesus called them hypocrites, for they practiced good deeds before people to be seen, they prayed standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be noted, they fasted with a melancholy so that everyone was aware that they are mortifying.
In today’s passage, other tricks with which the Pharisees attempt to gain recognition are described: the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, the widened stripes, and the fringes of vestments used during prayer. In the last part of today’s Gospel, the image of the authentic Christian community is drawn, one in which every form of superiority and inequality has been eliminated. It is the opposite of society, both civil and religious, in which classes, discrimination, the distinctions between superiors and subjects are recognized and approved.
Jesus gave little importance on the issue of the first places, the honorary titles, the bows, the hand-kissing and the adulation. He makes himself clear, radical, insistent and concerned that these criteria could emerge in the Christian community that explicitly prohibits the use of even seemingly innocuous, the honorary titles. It recalls three, those used in his time for honored and respected persons: Rabbi (which means “my great…”), father (which means “model of life and behavior”) and master (i.e. “spiritual guide”).
In the Christian community, the only blessed titles are brother, sister, disciple, servant and those that indicate a ministry, a service. The last words of today’s Gospel reproduce at a glance all the displayed message: “Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great”.
Prayer: Lord, may I always be open to the Gospel whenever it is preached. Lord, may I listen to your words more attentively and be on guard of the Pharisee in me. May I imitate you alone, the model of humility. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.