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| “Jesus Upbraideth the Scribes and Pharisees” by Matthys Pool and Arnold Houbraken, 1728 |
Reading 1: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
You recall, brothers and
sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in
order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the
Gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is
God,
how devoutly and justly and
blamelessly
we behaved toward you
believers.
As you know, we treated each
one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you
and insisting
that you walk in a manner
worthy of the God
who calls you into his
Kingdom and glory.
And for this reason we too
give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word
of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the
word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you
who believe.
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Commentary on 1 Thes 2:9-13
The Apostle did
not confine this Gospel to any one group but delivered it broadly to the
community. “’Those well-timed words,
whispered in the ear of your wavering friend; the helpful conversation you
managed to start at the right moment: the ready professional advice that
improves his university work; the discreet indiscretion by which you open up
unexpected horizons for his zeal. This all forms part of the 'apostolate of
friendship'" (St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 973).’”[4]
CCC: 1 Thes 2:13 104,
1349
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab
R. (1) You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your
spirit?
From your presence where can
I flee?
If I go up to the heavens,
you are there;
if I sink to the nether
world, you are present there.
R. You have searched me
and you know me, Lord.
If I take the wings of the
dawn,
if I settle at the farthest
limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall
guide me,
and your right hand hold me
fast.
R. You have searched me
and you know me, Lord.
If I say, “Surely the
darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”–
For you darkness itself is
not dark,
and night shines as the day.
R. You have searched me
and you know me, Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab
Psalm 139 is an
individual meditation on the omnipresent God who is in all places for all
time. The song rejoices that God is
always with us, even in the darkest of times.
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Gospel:
Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed
tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead
men’s bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you
appear righteous,
but inside you are filled
with hypocrisy and evildoing.
“Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the
prophets
and adorn the memorials of
the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived
in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them
in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against
yourselves
that you are the children of
those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your
ancestors measured out!”
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Commentary on Mt 23:27-32
This passage concludes St. Matthew’s treatment
of the “Seven Woes” with the final two exhortations against the scribes and
Pharisees. In the “Sixth Woe” Jesus derides the leadership for false piety.
While their acts of worship would make them seem upright and faith-filled,
their interior agendas are sinful. Their professed faith is not echoed with
actions – especially with charity.
The “Seventh Woe” attacks the pride of these
leaders who engage in pompous piety. “In spite of honoring the slain dead by
building their tombs and adorning their memorials, and claiming that they would
not have joined in their ancestors' crimes if they had lived in their days, the
scribes and Pharisees are true children of their ancestors and are defiantly
ordered by Jesus to fill up what those ancestors measured out. This order
reflects the Jewish notion that there was an allotted measure of suffering that
had to be completed before God's final judgment would take place.”[5]
Theologically, verses 29-32 provide strong support of Maccabeean Purgatory.
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Reflection:
The Gospel causes us to
examine the relationship of our external image with our internal core. In Jesus’ on-going criticism of the scribes
and Pharisees he chides them for performing acts of worship for the sake of
appearance rather than out of true devotion to the Lord. This false piety is pretended so that others
in their community will support their image of righteousness and give them
credibility in the assembly of the faithful.
It is their base of power and the roots of their authority.
When Jesus attacks this
characteristic he becomes a real threat to the religious power structure of the
region which, while having its administrative authority usurped by the Roman
occupiers, still wields great influence.
Because it purports to have significant control over the local
populations, it can pressure the official government to act (as we see when
Jesus is later arrested).
We are forced to consider this
question – Why does Jesus attack those who lead the Jewish people? Why does he not instead go after the Romans
who are pagan in their beliefs and without question, oppressive to the people? It is because his kingdom is not of this
world. He does not concern himself with
the Romans because they claim authority in the physical realm while the scribes
and Pharisees claim to have authority over the gates to God’s Kingdom. That kingdom is the one over which Jesus is
Lord.
This is an important
distinction for us because it helps us set our own priorities. What needs to be most important to us in our
lives of faith is that part of us which is destined to live eternally with our
Father in Heaven; our soul. We must be
constantly safe-guarding that element of our being and working to keep it as
free of sin as possible. We are called
to hold our faith in God and Christ closely to ourselves building it up through
prayer, the Word, and sacramental graces.
Does this mean that we need
not concern ourselves with the physical world around us? Absolutely not! Our internal faith, if it is genuine, will be
reflected in all of our actions. What we
truly believe must color everything we do.
What the Lord objected to in the scribes and Pharisees was that their
actions that seemed pious while in public worship, were not supported by their
actions outside that arena. Our true
faith will be expressed in all facets of our lives.
Today our prayer is this;
that our interior spiritual strength and faith in Jesus will continue to
increase and it will shine out, like the light of a flame that passes through
clear glass, bringing the warmth of Christ to the world.
Pax
[1]
S.S Commemoratio
[2]
The picture is “Jesus Upbraideth the Scribes and Pharisees” by Matthys Pool and
Arnold Houbraken, 1728
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
Letters of St. Paul , The Navarre Bible,
Four Courts Press, 2003, pp 513
[5]
See NAB note on
Matthew 23:29-32
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