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Contemplating today's Gospel

Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
View 1st Reading and Psalm
1st Reading (Mal 1:14–2,2b.8-10): A great King am I, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. And now, o priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. You have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction; you have made void the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions. Have we not all the one father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another, violating the covenant of our fathers?
Responsorial Psalm: 130
R/. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord, both now and forever.
2nd Reading (1Thess 2:7b-9.13): Brothers and sisters: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.
Versicle before the Gospel (Mt 23:9a.10b): Alleluia. You have but one Father in heaven and one master, the Christ. Alleluia.
Gospel text (Mt 23:1-12): Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted”

Fr. Miquel PLANAS i Buñuel (Montornès del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, the Lord paints us a picture of the prominent figures of Israel during his time (Pharisees, teachers of the Law, etc.). These men lived a superficial and shallow existence: “All their works are performed to be seen” (Mt 23:5). Moreover, they are hypocrites, “for they preach but they do not practice” (Mt 23:3), and become slaves of their own deceit by seeking only the approval or admiration of men. By themselves, they are nothing but pathetic vanity, absurd pride, emptiness... foolishness.

Since the beginnings of humanity, the most frequent temptation continues; the ancient serpent keeps whispering in our ears: “God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil” (Gn 3:5). And we keep on stumbling through, letting ourselves be called 'rabbi,' 'father,' and 'guides'... and so many other pompous titles. Too often, we want to occupy the place that is not ours. It is the Pharisaic attitude.

Rather than be like this, the disciples of Jesus should be quite the opposite: “The greatest among you must be your servant” (Mt 23:11). And since they have only one Father, they are all brothers. As always, the Gospel makes it clear that we cannot disconnect the vertical dimension (Father) and the horizontal dimension (other). Put simply, as specified in last Sunday's Gospel, “You shall love the Lord, your God… You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:37-39).

The entire liturgy of the Word this Sunday is at once full of the tenderness and demands of discipleship. St. John's words thus reverberate in our hearts: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 Jn 4:20). The new evangelization —increasingly urgent— asks us for fidelity, trust, and sincerity in living the vocation we have received through the Baptism. If we do this, then the path of life will be illuminated for us — “abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever” (Ps 16:11).

Thoughts on Today's Gospel

  • “We are leaders and we are servants. We may preside, but only if we serve” (Saint Augustine)

  • “What is needed is the willingness to “lose ourselves” for the sake of others rather than exploiting them, and to “serve them” instead of oppressing them for our own advantage. “The ‘other’ – whether a person, people or nation – [is to be seen] not just as some kind of instrument… but as our ‘neighbor’, a ‘helper’” (Francis)

  • “… You have heard that it was said to the men of old. . . But I say to you…" (Mt 5:33-34). With this same divine authority, he disavowed certain human traditions of the Pharisees that were “making void the word of God” (Mk 7:13)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nº 581)