We Are All Brothers And Sisters
Introduction
When we know our faith and practice our religious duties and observances – when we go to Mass and the sacraments and practice penance during Lent – are we good Christians? Only if our heart is in what we do. If we act as we believe and do what we say. If our faith affects our everyday living and our relations with our neighbour. If we are brothers and sisters to one another. If we build up the kingdom of God. Otherwise our faith is hypocritical.
1 Reading: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool. If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land; But if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!
Responsorial Psalm 50:8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.” R.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?” R.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” R.
Acclamation: Ezekiel 18:31
Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Gospel: Matthew 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 honour at banquets, seats of honour 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.”
Commentary
The Gospel today emphasizes the importance of service and humility, which must characterize the Christian community. Honours and titles—rabbi, father, and teacher—that were proper to other states of life were to be avoided when they conferred an authority that belonged only to God. This prohibition does not extend to such titles in society at large, but only to leaders in the community. The male head in the family remains “father” and the presider in the classroom is still “teacher.” But such titles must not become designations of high office or exalted status within the ecclesial community. The reason for this is that in the realm of faith, the one teacher and father is God himself or the Messiah whom he has sent.
So what title is appropriate within the Christian community when speaking of our co-religionists? There is a title that appears repeatedly in the New Testament: “brother and sister.” It is a title that relates us to Christ as brother and to God as father. It is a designation that binds us together as members of one family. It is a term dear to the New Testament and bears no connotation of a superior position.
There was a story about the minister general of the Capuchin Franciscans who spoke of his determination to see that all Capuchins be designated brothers or friars, not fathers, in keeping with the mind of St. Francis himself. And he had had a considerable measure of success. I congratulated him on his initiative. No wonder the pioneer pious missionary societies addressed themselves as “brothers and sisters”. That’s who we are.
Blessing
May God give us a sense of honesty with ourselves and with God, that we may not pretend to be better than we are and do nothing just for the sake of being seen by people. God knows, and that is enough. May the holy, truthful God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.