Matthew 23:1-12

Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11, 4:13-17

Psalm 128:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

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 honor at banquets, seats of honor 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, bring me more deeply into the mystery of your divine humility. You are God and Lord over all, and yet are so humble. You care for me and know me by name. You know when I sit and when I stand and what my eternal destiny is. Guide me always toward your loving, eternal embrace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Scribes and Pharisees: Jesus’ exhortation today is found at the beginning of his final major discourse in the Gospel of Matthew. The discourse concerns the coming destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in A.D. 70, the advent of the Kingdom of heaven, and the end of the world. In Chapter Twenty-Three, Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees, delivers seven woes against them, and issues a lament over the city of Jerusalem. Jesus has just silenced the scribes and Pharisees and now turns to the crowds to draw out the contrast between the false way of the scribes and Pharisees and the true way of the new community, the Church, he is establishing. “The scribes and Pharisees, according to Jesus, are marked by pride and striving for rank and honor, whereas his way is the way of unity in fraternity through humility” (Huizenga, Behold the Christ, 372).

2. From Humility to Exaltation: The lesson in today’s Gospel is that pride will lead to destruction and humility will lead to exaltation. The way of Pharisaic hypocrisy is a false way. They think they are holy and righteous, but are not. They put on a good show, but internally and spiritually are far from God. Pharisees lay heavy burdens on others and refuse to help with them. By contrast, the way of Jesus is light because he, the Savior of the world, sustains us with his grace, power, and Spirit, as we journey toward the gates of heaven. “The way of Jesus is different: he teaches the crowds and his disciples that they are all on one fraternal plane under God and his Christ, their teacher, who are on a higher level (Matt 23:8-10). In Jesus’s description of the situation with the scribes and Pharisees, God and his Christ are absent, and so all that is left is for men to seek rank over each other. In his Church, God and his Christ reign, and his followers are all brothers (and sisters) equal in dignity, if not office. And so true greatness requires humble service (23:11); those like the scribes and Pharisees who exalt themselves will receive an eschatological humbling … while the humble will find themselves exalted at the eschaton [the End]” (Huizenga, Behold the Christ, 373-374).

3. Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer: Today, in the First Reading, we conclude our nine-week semi-continuous reading of the first eight books of the Bible. On Monday, we will begin to read from the letters of Paul for four weeks. The Book of Ruth marks the transition from the time of the Judges to the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. It tells the story of Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David, who eventually married Boaz in Bethlehem. The verses we read today speak about Boaz’s role as a kinsman redeemer. Ruth’s father, Elimelech, had died, and the family was destitute. The family returned to live among the kinsfolk of Elimelech in Bethlehem. Ruth went to work in the fields and eventually revealed who she was to Boaz, a kinsman of Elimelech. According to the Law of Moses (see Leviticus 25:25 and Deuteronomy 25:5-6), Boaz had the responsibility of helping the family of Naomi financially and of marrying Naomi’s daughter, Ruth, and fathering a male heir. In this way, he assumes the role of a redeemer, saving his kin from debt and possible slavery and restoring them to life. Jesus has been revealed to us as the ultimate redeemer, since he saves us, his bride, from the debt and slavery of sin and the threat of eternal death.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I thank you for redeeming me from sin and death. You sacrificed everything for me and considered me a pearl of great price. Help me to respond to your generosity and love and share in your redemptive work.

Living the Word of God: Am I convinced that “humility is truth”? Do I strive in my prayer and examinations of conscience to see myself as God truly sees me? How can I be more objective when I meditate on my virtues, strengths, progress, vices, weaknesses, and failures?