November 5, 2017
Mal 1:14b-2:2b,8-10; 1 Thess 2:7b-9,13; Matt 23:1-12
Brookdale
The Levites in ancient Israel and Judah had a sacred duty to teach God’s law. In today’s first reading, the prophet Malachi takes the Levites of Judah to task for misleading the people by teaching that waters down God’s law. They have fallen into the common trap of religious business as usual, taking their jobs as religious leaders for granted and trying to please the people in power. But Malachi tells them that their jobs are not guaranteed. God can and will fire them—change their blessings into curses—if they don’t shape up.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says that the scribes and the Pharisees of his day have also failed as religious leaders. Scribes and Pharisees were good people who studied the law carefully as a guide to how to live their lives, and obeyed the law to the letter. But Jesus has complaints about how they teach and interpret the law. They make life harder for people, they love to take places of honor at banquets, they wear extra-pious religious garb, and they have exalted titles. You can feel how Jesus hates that.
Many Christians throughout history have interpreted passages like this one as proof that Christianity is better than Judaism. This view has contributed to the persecution of Jews in Europe and America. But it also has distracted Christians from actual point: we need to avoid the pitfalls of hypocrisy and religious status-seeking. A major concern of Matthew’s Gospel is how the church should operate. Jesus is not talking to the scribes and Pharisees here. He is talking to the crowds and to his disciples—that is, to us. His message is “Do what they say, but not what they do.” Don’t be like them. Jesus wanted his disciples to avoid the hypocrisy and religious status-seeking he condemns.
It’s easy to make rules for other people. Jesus wanted his disciples to lead by example rather than precept. What would Jesus think of the mansions in which many bishops live? I think Jesus would prefer the simplicity of Pope Francis’s modest room in the Vatican guesthouse. Shortly after Pope Francis—then Jorge Bergoglio—was installed as the new archbishop of Buenos Aires, he was invited to dinner at the local seminary. After dinner, the rector asked him if he would like to say a few words to the students. “Yes,” he replied, “I’d like to say that tonight I’ll do the dishes.” And he got up and walked into the kitchen. I’m sure those few words taught the seminarians more than many sermons.
Jesus also warned his followers against the temptations of status. In today’s reading, he condemns the scribes’ and Pharisees’ public displays of piety, titles of religious superiority, and special honors for religious bigwigs. He tells his followers, “Don’t be like them.” What would Jesus say today about ostentatious crosses, the traditional papal triple crown, and titles like “your excellency” and “your holiness”? What would he think about the fancy robes of bishops and cardinals, and about prelates who attend political banquets?
Jesus even says not to call anyone father—except your own father, obviously. I’ll have to ask Father Joe what he thinks about that one. I think Jesus would approve of the Catholic sisters who gave up their distinctive habits, and the Quaker custom of avoiding titles altogether, saying simply “Mister Smith” or “Ms. Jones.”
We bring our own agendas to everything, including religion. The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day made the same mistakes as the priests of Malachi’s time. Christian priests and bishops have repeated the same mistakes again. Are we any better? Let’s be on our guard.
In every age, hypocrisy and status-seeking are constant and insidious temptations. Jesus’ message in this passage seems to be that even when we are working hardest to do the right thing, even for professional clergy and religious, these temptations are never far away.