Tuesday, March 03, 2015
2nd Week of Lent
1st reading: Isaiah 1.10, 16-20, 27-28, 31
Gospel: Mt 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)
Today’s Gospel forbids the use of the title “Father”. On this basis fundamentalists assail the Catholic practice of using this title to address their priests. This is a misreading of today’s Gospel message. When Jesus issued the prohibition he was taking the Pharisees to task for putting high premium on public recognition. His disgust was evident when he attached them in this wise: “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.”
The prohibition will apply to priests if, like the Pharisees, they seek out public recognition and work for honor and prestige. The prohibition therefore does not automatically apply to all who bear the title “Father”. Anyone with the title “Father” then is not an automatic violator of an absolute prohibition. To focus too much on the use or none-use of the title is to miss Jesus’ core message of sincerity.
The word sincerity comes from two Latin words “sine” (without) and “cera” (wax). Waxed people are not people but corpses that appear alive outside but rotten in the inside. A person who is sincere will have little interest about externals like names and titles. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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