…..Also St. Monica, mother of St Augustine
Authentic Living: Justice, Mercy and Fidelity
Introduction
In today’s first reading, Paul, speaking from experience, gives us the spirituality of an apostle. An apostle has to preach not his own message, but God’s – straightforward, without duplicity, without personal gain, for it is God’s news, his good news. The apostle must also be ready to suffer for the gospel, as a suffering servant of the gospel, yet with assurance, for he derives his courage from God. The apostle loves the people to whom he is sent and shares with them not only the good news but his very life. Let us pray the Lord for this kind of missionaries and leaders and let us try to be this type in our own little way.
There is always the danger that religions turn into a kind of ritualism that imposes practices of little meaning as if they were the saving factors. Ritualism or rubricism is still raising its ugly head even after Vatican II. How ridiculous, almost superstitious! Equally ridiculous because it is empty. It is a religion that professes to have faith but minimizes or shuns religious practices. Be sure that with this attitude quite rampant in our time, true faith disappears. Quit religiosity, practice true religion.
1 Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our reception among you was not without effect. Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the Gospel of God with much struggle. Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives, nor did it work through deception.
But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,
that is how we speak, not as trying to please men, but rather God, who judges our hearts. Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know, or with a pretext for greed–God is witness–nor did we seek praise from men, either from you or from others, although we were able to impose our weight as Apostles of Christ. Rather, 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.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 139:1-3, 4-6
R. (1) You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar. R.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain. R.
Alleluia: Hebrews 4:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Matthew 23:23-26
Jesus said: “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”
Commentary
Hypocrisy under any circumstances is an unwelcome trait; when found in religious conduct, even more so. Jesus decries various aspects of the comportment of religious leaders. They observe minutiae of the law while overlooking the major precepts. In paying tithes of the field to the temple, they admit the most insignificant garden plants (mint, dill, cummin) while neglecting major issues as judgment, mercy, and fidelity. They are taken up with externals (the outside of the cup), while failing to clean the inside of the cup (plunder and self-indulgence). All of this leads to a disregard for what God truly asks while emphasizing matters of purely secondary importance. Can you imagine sieving out tiny gnat from your cup of water, but willing to drink a “cup of camel”? Yeah! Strange and pure hypocrisy!
How different was the conduct of Paul. He and his companions had been entrusted with the gospel, and this they delivered without flattery, greed, or a desire for praise. So deep was his affection for the people that he wanted to share not only the gospel but his very self. For this reason Paul made himself one with his congregation wherever he went.
Ministers of the gospel must be continually alert. It is the truth of Jesus Christ that they preach and not their own interests. Temporalities have their place, but to spend excessive amounts of time preaching about parish needs, income problems, harvest/bazaar, tithes, parish debts is a betrayal of the good news. Sunday preaching is a solemn obligation. That’s what the art of homiletics teaches. There is no other moment of our week when we have the attention of such a large segment of our community. It is the word of God that is to be preached. And we must spread it at every given moment of the week.
Blessing
Let us, as Jesus recommends, pay attention first of all to the important matters of the law: to justice and mercy, faith and love. The rest will follow easily. May almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!