Saturday, August 25, 2018 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)
The Evangelist Matthew lists down what titles to avoid in order not to offend the lofty position of God. These are ‘Father’, ‘Master’, ‘Teacher’, and ‘Leader’. Consider the implications if we take the prohibition literally. The Presidential seal should then be changed from “Sagisag ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas” to “Sagisag ng Pilipinas”. We can just call the President “Pres”. But this sounds like putting him on equal footing with his Press Secretary. Shall we call him “dent” instead? Now, that’s impolite! Dent is associated with the teeth. It could be taken as an insinuation that the President’s programs and policies have no teeth.
If we were to take the Bible prohibition literally, the Department of Education should issue a memorandum instructing students not to call their educators ‘teachers’. Should the students call them “mentors”? But that’s impolite! It’s like giving students the chance to address their tormentors properly, and with impunity! Even family members should stop calling their male parent ‘father’. Should children call their Dads “Erpats” (father in reverse)? Now, that’s disrespectful! It’s like calling them air-pots – an allusion to the shortness of their temper of most of them.
The foregoing considerations offend logic and render the Gospel prohibition unreasonable. This is what happens if we interpret the Bible literally. –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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