Homily
for the 31st Sunday
in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)
Based
on Mt 23:1-12 (Gospel),
Mal 1:14-2:2, 8-10
(First Reading) and 1 Tes 2:7-9,13 (Second Reading)
From
the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”
SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
The scribes and
the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses; you must therefore do what he tells
you and listen to what he says.” (Mt 23:2-3)
The Gospel for this 31st Sunday in
Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt
23:1-12, with the title: “Scribes and
Pharisees: their hypocrisy and vanity.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Ws
2:12 - Let us lie in wait for the
virtuous man, since he annoys usg;
and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for breaches of the law and accuses
us of playing false to our upbringing. Footnote g says “Literary influence of Is. 3:10 (LXX).”
2. Jr
8:8-9 - How dare you say: We are wise,
and we possess the Law of Yahweh? But look how it has been falsified by the
lying pens of the scribes (v. 8)!d The wise shall be shamed, caught
out, confounded. Look, how they have rejected the word of Yahweh! So what use
is their wisdom to them (v.9)? Footnote d says
“In this case the priests.
Guardians of the tradition preserved in the texts. The ‘word’, v. 9, means the
teaching of the prophets.”
3.
Rm 2:19-20 - If you are convinced you can guide
the blind and be a beacon to those in the dark (v. 19), if you can teach the
ignorant and instruct the unlearned, because your law embodies all knowledge
and truth (v. 20).
Verses 1, 2 and 3 say: Then addressing the people
and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair
of Moses. You must therefore do what he tells you and listen to what he says.
Do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practice what they preach. Parallel
text of verse is that says…
Parallel texts of verse 3 are:
1. Dt
17:10 - You must abide by the decision they
pronounce for you in that place which Yahweh chooses, and you must take care to
carry out all their instructions.
2.
Rm 2:19-20 - If you are convinced you can guide the blind and be a
beacon to those in the dark (v. 19), if you can teach the ignorant and instruct
the unlearned, because your law embodies all knowledge and truth (v. 20).
Verse 4 says: They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s
shoulders, but will they lift a finger
to move them? Not they!
Parallel text of verse is that says:
1.
Mt 11:30
- ‘Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden
light.’
2.
Lk 11:46 - ‘‘Alas for you lawyers also,’ he replied
‘because you load on men burdens that are endurable, burdens that you
yourselves do not move a finger to lift.
3.
Ac 15:10 - It would only provoke God’s anger
now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the very burden that neither we
nor our ancestors were strong enough to support?
Verse 5 says:
Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries
and longer tassels…b Footnote
b says “The phylactery
is a small receptacle containing the most important words of the Law; the Jews
attach it to arm or forehead, carrying out the injunction of Ex 13:9,16; Dt
6:8; 11:18 literally. The four tassels were sewn one at each corner of the
cloak, cf. Nb 15:38+.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Mt
6:1-8 - “Be careful not to parade your good deedsa before men to
attract their notice; being doing this you will lose all reward from your
Father in heaven (v. 1). So when you
give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do
in synagogues and in the streets to win men’s admiration. I tell you solemnly,
they have their reward (v.2). But when you give alms, your left hand must not
know what your right hand is doing (v. 3); your almsgiving must be secret, and
your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you (v. 4). And when you pray, do not imitate the
hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at
the street corners for people to see them. I tell you solemnly, they have had
their reward (v. 5). But when you pray,
go to your private room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father
who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in
secret will reward you (v. 6). ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do,
for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard (v. 7).
Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him (v. 8).”
Footnote a says “Lit.
‘performs your righteousness’ (var. ‘perform almsgiving’), i.e. perform good
works which makes a man righteous in the sight of God. For the Jews these works
were principally: almsgiving (vv. 2-4), prayer (vv. 5-6), fasting (vv. 16-18).”
2. Nb
15:38 - Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them to put tassels on the hems of their garments, and to put a violet
cord on this tassel at the hem.
3. Am
4:5…burn leavened dough as a sacrifice with praise, announce your voluntary
offerings, make them public, for this is what makes you happy, sons of Israel.
It is the Lord Yahweh who speaks.
Verse 6 says: like wanting to take the place of honor at banquets and
the front seats at synagogues…
Parallel text of verse is that says:
1. Mk
12:38-39 - In
his teaching he said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long
robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares (v. 38), to take the front
seats in synagogues and the places of honor at banquets (v. 39)…Alas for you
Pharisees who like taking the seats of honor in the synagogues and being
greeted obsequiously in the market squares!
2. Lk
11:43 - Alas for you Pharisees who like taking the seats of honor in the
synagogues and being greeted obsequiously
in the market squares!
3. Lk
20:46 - Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes and love to
be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the
synagogues and the places of honor at banquets…
Verses 7 to 11 say: Being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call
them Rabbic. ‘You, however,d must not allow yourselves to
be called Rabbi, since you have only one Master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father,e
since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves
to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest
among you must be your servant. Footnote
c says “Aramaic word meaning ‘my master’, the usual
title of the Jewish teacher. Jesus himself was thus addressed by his disciples,
26:25,49.”;Footnote d says “Vv.
8-12, addressed to the disciples only, probably did not belong originally to
this discourse.”; and Footnote e says “Abba
in Aramaic; another title of honor.”
Parallel texts of verse 7 are:
1.
Lk 14:7 - He then told the guests a parable,
because he had noticed how they picked the places of honor. He said this,
2. Jm
3:1 - Only a few of you, my brothers,
should be teachers, bearing in mind that those of usa who can teach
can expect a stricter judgment. Footnote a says “Var (Vulg.) ‘you.’”
Verse 12 says: Anyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Mt 20:26 - This is not to happen among you. No;
anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant…
2.
Mt 18:4 - And so, the one who makes himself as
this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
3.
Lk 1:52-53 - He has pulled won princes from
their thrones and exalted the lowly (v. 52). The hungry he has filled with good
things, the rich he sent empty away (v. 53).
4.
Lk 14:11 - For everyone who exalts himself will
be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’
5.
Lk 18:14 - This man, I tell you, went home again
at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.
6.
Mt 6:9 - So you should pray like this;b
‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy. Footnote b says “The Lord’s Prayer in its
Matthean form has 7 petitions. The number is a favorite of Matthew’s ; 2x7
generations in the genealogy (1:17), 7 Beatitudes (5:4+), 7 parables (13:3+),
forgiveness not 7 but 77 times (18;22), 7 ‘alas’ for the Pharisees (23:13+), 7
sections into which the gospel is divided (cf. Introduction to the Synoptic
Gospels).”
The First Reading is taken
from Mal 1:14-2:2, 8-10.
Chapter 1, Verse 14 says: Cursed
be the rogue who owns a male which he has vowed to offer from his flock, and
instead sacrifices a blemished animal to me!k For I am a great king,
says Yahweh Sabaoth, and my name is feared throughout the nations. Footnote
k says “‘he has vowed’
following Greek. ‘sacrifices to me’ corr.; ‘sacrifices to the Lord’ Hebr.”
Parallel text is Ps 102:15 that says: Then will the nations fear the
name of Yahweh and all kings on earth respect your glory…
Chapter 2, verses 1 and 2 say: And now, priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen, if you
do not find it in your heart to glorify your name, says Yahweh Sabaoth, I will
send the curse on you and curse your very blessing.a Indeed I have
already… Footnote a says “‘blessing’”.
Parallel text of verse1 is Ho 4:6 that says: My
people perish for want of knowledge. As you have rejected knowledgef
so do I reject you from my priesthood. Footnote f says “Knowledge of the Law in which the priests should have instructed the
people, Dt. 33:10; Ml 2:5-8.”
Verses 8 and 9 say: But you, you have strayed from the way; you have caused many to stumble
by your teaching.e You have destroyed the covenant of Levi, says
Yahweh Sabaoth. And I in my turn have made you contemptible and
vile in the eyes of the whole people in repayment for the way you have not kept
to my paths but have shown partiality in your administration. Footnote e says “‘by your teaching’ lit. ‘by the Law’.”
Parallel text of verse 8 is Mt 23:13,15 that says: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going
in yourselves nor allowing others to go inf who wants to (v. 13)g
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea
and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice
as fit for hell as you are (v. 15).’ Footnote f says “The exacting casuistry of the rabbis made observance of the Law
impossible.”; and Footnote g says “Add v. 14, ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
who devour the property of widows, though you make a show of lengthy prayers.
The more severe will be the sentence you will receive’; this is an
interpolation taken from Mk. 12:40; LK. 20:47 and making eight maledictions
instead of the deliberate total of seven, cf. 6:9+.”
Verse 10 says: Have we not all one Father? Did not on God create us?
Why, then, do we break faith with one another, profaning the covenant of our
ancestors?
Parallel text of verse is that says:
1.
Ezr 9:1 - Once this is done, the leaders
approached me to say, ‘The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, have
not broken with the natives of the countries who are steeped in abominations –
Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and
Amorites…
2.
Ep 4:6 - and
one God who is Father of all, over all, though all and within all.b Footnote
b says “Var. (Vulg.) ‘within all of us’.”
The Second Reading is taken from 1 Tes 2:7-9,13.
Verse 7 says: …when
we could have imposed ourselves on you with full eight, as apostles of Christ.a
Instead, we were unassuming.b Like a mother feeding and looking after her
own children…Footnote a says “Lit.
‘being able to be with weight as apostles of Christ’; interpreted morally, this
can mean that Apostle Paul could have insisted on his own dignity and prestige,
or that materially he could have expected to have been fed and kept at their
expense, cf. 2:9; 2 Th 3:8; 2 Co 11:9.”; and Footnote b says “Lit. ‘babies’; var. ‘gentle’.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
1 Co 3:2 - What
I fed you with was milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it; and
indeed, you are stilla not ready for it… Footnote a says
“Om. ‘still’”
2.
Ga 4:19 - my children! I must go through the pain of giving birth to you all
over again, until Christ is formed in you.
Verse 8 says: we
felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you
much, that we were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but whole
lives well.
Parallel texts are:
1. Rm
9:3 - I would willingly be condemned and
be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel,c my
own flesh and blood. Footnote c says “Actual descendants of Jacob (called ‘Israel’, Gn 32:29). All the other
privileges derive from this: adoptive sonship, Ex 4:22; cf. Dt 7:6+; the glory
of God, Ex. 24:16+, who dwells with his people, Ex 25:8+; Dt 4:7+; cf. Jn
1:14+; the covenant with Abraham, Gn 15:1+; 15:17+; 17:1+, with Jacob-Israel,
Gn 32:29, with Moses, Ex. 24:7-8; the worship of the one true God; the Law
which embodies his will; the messianic promises, 2 S 7:1+, and physical
relationship with Christ.”
2. Ga
2:20…and I live now not with my own life
but with the life of Christ who lives in me.m The life I now live in
this bodyn I live in faith; faith in the Son of God,o who
loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake. Footnote m says
“The living acts of a Christian becomes
somehow the acts of Christ.”; Footnote n says “Lit ‘in my flesh’. Though still physically
alive, cf. Ep 3:17+; on this paradox, cf Rm 8.” and Footnote o says
“Var. ‘faith in God and in Christ’.”
Verse 9 says: Let me remind you, brothers, how hard we used to work,
slaving night and day so as not to be a burden on any of you while we were proclaiming
God’s Good News to you.
Parallel texts are:
1.
1 Th 4:11…and to make a point of living quietly,
attending to your own business and earning your living, just as we told you to…
2.
Ac 18:3 - And
when he found they were tentmakers, as the same trade as himself, he lodged with
them and they worked together.d Footnote
d says “Though Paul
acknowledges the missionary’s right to sustenance, 1 Co 9:6-14; Ga 6:6; 2 Th
3:9; cf. Lk 10:7, he himself always practiced a trade, 1 Co 4:12, not wishing
to be a burden on anyone, 1 Th 2:9; 1 Th 3:8; 1 Co 12:13f, and in order to
prove his singleness of purpose, Ac 20:33f; 1 Co 9:15-18; 2 Co 11:7-12. Only
from the Philippians did he accept help, Ph 4:10-18; 2 Co 11:8f, cf. Ac 16:15+.
He recommended his followers to do the same to supply their own needs, 1 Th
4:11f; 2 Th 3:10-12, and those of the poor, Ac 20:35; Ep 4:28.”
3.
2 Th 3:7-9 - You know how you are supposed to
imitate us;b now we were not idle when we were with you (v. 7), nor
did we ever have our meals at anyone’s
table without paying for them; no, we worked night and day, slaving and
straining, so as not to burden any of you (v. 8). This was not because that we
had no right to be, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow
(v. 9). Footnote
b says “By imitating Paul , 1
Co 4:16; Ga 4:12; Ph 3:17, Christians will be imitating Christ, 1 Th 1:6; Ph
2:5; cf Mt 16:24; 1 P 2:21; 1 Jn 2:6; who is the one that Paul is imitating, 1
Co 11:1. Christians must also imitate God, Ep 5:1 (cf. Mt 5:48), and they must
imitate each other, 1 Th 1:7; 2:14; Heb 6:12. Behind this community of life is
the idea of a model of doctrine, Rm 6:17, that has been received by tradition,
v. 6: 1 Co 11:2+; 1 Th 2:13++. The leaders who transmit the doctrine must
themselves be ‘models’ v. 9; Ph 3:17; 1
Tm 1:16; 4:12; Tt 2:7; 1 P 5:3; whose
faith and life are to be imitated, Heb 13:7.”
Verse 13 says: Another
reason why we constantly thank God for
you is that as soon as you heard the message you accepted it for what it really
is, God’s messaged and not some human thinking; and it is stille
a living power among you who believe it. Footnote d says “A
brief summary of the apostolic tradition: message is first ‘received’, 4:1; 2
Th 3:6; 1 Co 15:1; Ga 1:9; Ph 4:9; Col. 2:6; or ‘heard’, Rm 10:17+; Ep 1:13; Ac
15:7, etc. It then penetrates the mind or heart, Rm 10:8-10, where, if it is
welcomed,, 1:6; 2 Th 2:10; 2 Co 11:4; Ac 8:16, etc. Mk 4:20, it proves that the
hearer acknowledges that God has been speaking through his missionary, 4:1f; 2
Co 3:5; 15:3.” and Footnote e says “Or ‘has become’; God acts through his message that has been welcomed by
the believer, cf. 1:8, 2 Th 3:1.”
Parallel text of verse is that says:
1. 1
Co 11:2 - You have done well in
remembering me so constantly and in maintaining the traditionsa just
as I passed them on to you. Footnote a says “i.e. the teachings of Christ and the
apostles.”
2. 1
Co 15:1 - Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the
gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established;
3. Ep
1:13 - Now you too,n in him,
have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation, and
have believed it; and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy
Spirit of the Promise.o Footnote n says “Sixth blessing: the Jews are chosen to be
the human share allotted to God, and are to be his witness until the coming of
the Messiah. Paul, being a Jew, here uses ‘we’.”; and Footnote o says “Paul completes his Trinitarian account of
God’s plan with the Spirit, since the giving of the Spirit shows the plan has
reached its final stage. Nevertheless, though this gift has already begun, it
is only given in a hidden way while the unspiritual world lasts, and will only
be given fully when the kingdom of God is complete and Christ comes in glory.”
The Pharisees: The Pharisees, according to Nehemia Gordon at http://www.youtube.com were
the "separated ones" and now are called the orthodox rabbis.
Please note that here we have used the Hebrew Matthew
23 that says: “The
scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses; you must therefore do what
he tells you and listen to what he says.” (Mt
23:2-3), rather than the Greek Matthew that says: The scribes and the Pharisees
occupy the chair of Moses; you must therefore do what they tell you and listen
to what they says.” (Mt 23:2-3). The difference between the Hebrew Matthew and
the Greek Matthew, according to Nehemia Gordon, is the use of the pronoun “he” (referring to Moses) and “they”
(referring to the Pharisees). The Hebrew Matthew avoids the contradiction with
Matthew 5:18 that says: “because I tell
all of you with
certainty that until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter or
one stroke of a letter will disappear from the Law until everything has been
accomplished”.
Referring to the traditions of the Pharisees (referred to as the Oral Torah) which are mere laws of men and not of God, we find in Mt. 15:1-3,8 Jesus Christ's own indictment of them : ‘He said to them in reply, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’” Apparently, Jesus Christ tells us to keep the observance of God's law as enunciated in the Written Torah, and not to observe the traditions and precepts (the Oral Torah) of the Pharisees such as those mentioned by him in Mt 15.
Referring to the traditions of the Pharisees (referred to as the Oral Torah) which are mere laws of men and not of God, we find in Mt. 15:1-3,8 Jesus Christ's own indictment of them : ‘He said to them in reply, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’” Apparently, Jesus Christ tells us to keep the observance of God's law as enunciated in the Written Torah, and not to observe the traditions and precepts (the Oral Torah) of the Pharisees such as those mentioned by him in Mt 15.
No comments:
Post a Comment