Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Matthew 23: 1-12
August 23, 2025 | Saturday

Today’s Gospel

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say; but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even lift a finger to move them. They do everything in order to be seen by people: they wear very wide bands of the law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first places at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called ‘Master’ by the people.

But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, he who is in heaven. Nor should you be called Leader, because Christ is the only Leader for you. 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.

Today’s Reflection

The story continues and narrates how Boaz became Ruth’s husband. The restoration also reinstates Naomi and Ruth’s status in the eyes of the people. The women now praise Naomi, for she became the grandmother of Obed, the Father of Jesse, and the grandfather of David. It was to this episode that the finest and greatest among the heroes of the Bible are people who have women in their lineage who can be considered as “disadvantaged, un-pure (a foreigner), a prostitute, or a sinner. In all these, the Lord’s hand is present, unfolding the salvation history and the history of the people of Israel.

The Pharisees are considered the successors of Moses’ “teaching authority.” They legislate and interpret the laws and precepts and are very strict in their observance of the Laws and precepts. They wear tassels or phylacteries with lines that symbolize how many precepts of the law they follow strictly. They were displayed for others to observe. They were, as we called today, fanatic in their observance. Jesus’ harsh criticisms in the Gospel of today are a stark warning for the people that they were fanatic in displaying their phylacteries, but their way of living is another. They are good at encoding the laws to be observed by the people, but they do not follow them. It sounds familiar in today’s society! This disconnect between “laws and observance” received harsh criticism from Jesus. This is the tendency when we are so preoccupied with the details of the law that we have forgotten that they are there to regulate our lives for the better. Laws are supposed to be subservient to the common good and the good of the society. When we focus too much on the observance of the law, we forget to love our neighbor and to love God. Laws should guide us toward the love of God and the love of our neighbor. We pray that we will not be lost in the details, look for the bigger picture, and exert an effort to the real purpose of the law.

/Vulnerasti, 2025