Mat
23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his
disciples, 2
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; 3 therefore,
do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do
not practice what they teach. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and
lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift
a finger to move them. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others;
for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. 6 They love to
have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and to be
greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. 8 But you are
not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. 9 And call no
one your father on earth, for you have one Father--the one in heaven. 10 Nor are you
to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. 11 The
greatest among you will be your servant. 12 All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and
all who humble themselves will be exalted.
Jesus
addresses the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, who do not practice that
which they teach. People generally become critical of those people who do not
practice the goodness they preach. This is most evident when a policeman is
caught breaking the law, or politician is found to have been less than honest
in a public speech, or a preacher exhibits moral failure.
The
enduring problem of life is that we are all caught in this paradigm. We, who
criticise the hypocrisy in other people, are subject to our own inconsistent
behaviour. St Paul described the dilemma of knowing what is right but being
unable to do it: For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I
do (Romans 7:19). Jesus seems to
suggest that the key to living an honest life is to be humble. This is the
humility that admits to our own failings, while refusing to allow our
shortcomings to limit our expectations of ourselves.
Challenge for today: to allow latitude for
the failings in the people around me, while constantly expecting better of
myself.
The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Unchanging Truths
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman
Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville,
The Upper Room 1983), 90.
This reflection is from
my own devotional exercises for the day.
[1] This order first appeared in John Selden's Table-Talk (c. 1654): "Preachers say, 'Do as I say, not as I do.”
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