Saturday, August 20, 2016
20th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ezk 43:1-7
Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees sat on the seat of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say, but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even raise a finger to move them. They do everything in order to be seen by people; so they wear very wide bands of the Law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first place at feasts and reserved seats in the synagogues, and being greeted in the marketplace and being called ‘Master’ by the people.
“But you, do not let yourselves be called Master because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, he who is in heaven. Nor should you be called leader, because Christ is the only leader for you.
Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Matthew lists what titles to avoid in order not to compete with God. They are ‘Father’, ‘Master’, ‘Teacher’, and ‘Leader’. How do we address the highest leader of the land then? Shall we call him “Pres” or “Dent”? “Pres” sounds like we are demoting the President to the rank of Press Secretary. Let’s go for “Dent”. At least it will remind the President to put teeth into our laws.
Should DEPED issue a memorandum instructing students not to call members of the faculty “teachers”? Call them “mentors” then? But this sounds too close to “tormentors” That would be calling a spade a spade with impunity! Should we call priests “fads” or “derps”? But “fads” is too close to “fad” and might encourage the few priests who are already materialistic to go along with the latest fad.
“Derps” is too close to “herpes” and might be a little disrespectful. Should family members use “Erpat” instead of “Dad”? It’s too close to “airpot” and the hot-tempered fathers might feel slighted.
Putting logic into our Gospel interpretation is the better thing to do. The best option, however, is to heed the official interpretation of the Church. After all it was to its head, Peter, that the authority to interpret was given. To Peter Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt 18:18) – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM, MMExM, MAPM, REB. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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