August 23, 2014 Saturday 20th Week in the Ordinary Time Ez 43:1-7; Ps 84:9-14; Mt 23:1-12 One Teacher! Todays gospel message begins with a severe indictment of the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. Do what they tell you; do not do what they do, They do not practice what they preach. Not practicing what we preach is the cause of many miseries. Priests and religious want to occupy the chair of Moses. They should first bear witness to Christ by their deeds, then, by their words. Parents also should teach their children, first, by the example of their lives; then, words may not even be necessary. Young people and children are moved more by non- verbal communication than by verbal communication. Here comes the question: because the preachers do not practice, should their audiences not practice? The answer of Jesus is: do what they tell you, but do not do what they do. A gentleman I know, had given up going for confession. Why should I confess to them? Am I not better than they? Jesus would reply to him: first of all, it is I who judge who is better; secondly, since it is I who have empowered them to forgive your sins, you may really be better than they, after receiving absolution from them. Further in todays gospel, Jesus tells us that we all have one Master, and one Teacher. Why is Jesus Christ our only Teacher? He is the Truth. No other teacher can claim to be the truth. The truth that is proclaimed by those who occupy the chair of Moses is not from themselves. The wrong that the leaders do is from themselves. The truth that the leaders proclaim is from Christ, the only true Teacher, who - as we have seen above - tells the people: Do what they tell you. As occupants of the chair of Moses, they proclaim the Law of God. But do not do what they do, when they do not follow the Law. Prayer: Teach me Jesus, through Your Holy Spirit. Hold my hand and lead me on. Amen.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 01:20:52 +0000