Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 23: 1-12
August 26, 2023 | Saturday
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 him-self shall be made great.
Today’s Reflection:
Today’s reading teaches us that no one on earth should strive to be called a father because God is the only Father. This may however fall under foolish interpretations due to some of our modern practices, with both our biological fathers and Catholic priests being called “fathers”, and Jesus prohibiting His disciples from calling anyone their master or teacher. We must, however, interpret it this way–the real essence of the gospel is to present the incoherent titles with their attached responsibilities. The Pharisees claim they teach in the authority of Moses but fail to live the teachings of God’s prophet. Jesus points to them the real problem. He invites them to repair their witnessing rather than preserving their honorific titles that become mere empty prestige. These titles lose their value when their actions don’t correspond to the title they hold. ./Vulnerasti, 2023
