Tuesday of 21st Week in Ordinary Time
GENUINE, AUTHENTIC PERSONS
Paul is aware that his Thessalonians are in danger of becoming an end-of-the-world sect, something we understand easily in the light of the many similar sects appearing among us today. Paul invites them to look serenely at the traditions of the early Church about the end of the world which Paul had brought to them. Jesus comes not to end the world but to bring us another world of justice and mercy.
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 and rubricism is still raising its ugly head even after Vatican II. How ridiculous, almost superstitious! Equally ridiculous because it is empty, 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.
First Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5; 14-17
Now, friends, read these next words carefully. Slow down and don’t go jumping to conclusions regarding the day when our Master, Jesus Christ, will come back and we assemble to welcome him. Don’t let anyone shake you up or get you excited over some breathless report or rumored letter from me that the day of the Master’s arrival has come and gone. Don’t fall for any line like that.
Before that day comes, a couple of things have to happen. First, the Apostasy. Second, the debut of the Anarchist, a real dog of Satan. He’ll defy and then take over every so-called god or altar. Having cleared away the opposition, he’ll then set himself up in God’s Temple as “God Almighty.” Don’t you remember me going over all this in detail when I was with you? Are your memories that short?
Meanwhile, we’ve got our hands full continually thanking God for you, our good friends—so loved by God! God picked you out as his from the very start. Think of it: included in God’s original plan of salvation by the bond of faith in the living truth. This is the life of the Spirit he invited you to through the Message we delivered, in which you get in on the glory of our Master, Jesus Christ.
So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.
Gospel: Matthew 23:23-26
“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?
“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.
Prayer
Truthful, authentic, genuine God,
you are the truth in its fullness.
Immerse us in your truth,
that we may emerge as truthful persons
who do not bother about outward appearances
but live in the likeness of Jesus Christ, your Son.
Thus make it possible for us to live
in communion with one another in mutual trust,
one in his Spirit,
today and every day and for ever. Amen.
Reflection:
23 August 2022
Matthew 23: 23-26
An unjust and unkind cannot be a Christian.
We continue to listen to Jesus’ discourse on the ‘seven woes.’ The Torah commanded to offer the tithe – one-tenth of everything the people produced in their fields – mainly grain, fruits, wine and oil. Some Pharisees sought scrupulous observance of the command by adding even minor grains produced in the home garden but conveniently ignored the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
Today, we could be the ones falling into the mistakes of teachers of the law and the Pharisees, believing that we can buy God with money. The Gospel today challenges us to grow in mercy and justice while professing our faith in Jesus. Some people make huge financial contributions to the Church but refuse to be just and merciful toward people around them.
During his September 2018 visit to Sicily, Pope Francis called on members of notorious mafia networks – many of whom worship openly and belong to the church – saying, “You cannot be a mafioso and believe in God at the same time.” In his sermon, the pope said, “Mafia members do not live as Christians because they blaspheme against God’s name with their lives.”
Even when they actively participate in charity works and make huge contributions to the Church, people involved in drug deals or human trafficking cannot claim to be Christians.
Contributions to the Church and charity works are indeed a must, but that should not be done as a cover for one’s lack of justice and mercy.
The question of ritual purity was a matter of great significance in the time of Matthew and had become increasingly important throughout the Diaspora. The Jews regarded it as one of their primary identification marks, distinguishing them from the surrounding gentile culture. However, Jesus wished to emphasise the priority of inner attitudes over external practices. In the world of Jesus, personal integrity is rated higher than ritual purity.
A major cause of division within the Church in recent times happens in the name of liturgical rituals. Many people, including many bishops and priests, disagreed with the pope when he taught the Church to accept the liturgical reforms brought forth by Vatican II. The call for a unified liturgical form in the Syro Malabar Church in India is almost causing a break-up in that community. Today’s verse of the Gospel is all the more relevant to the Church: “Oh, blind Pharisee! Purify first the inside of the cup so that what is outside it may become clean.”
Video available on Youtube: An unjust and unkind cannot be a Christian.