From: Matthew 23:1-12

Vices of the Scribes and Pharisees

[1] Then said Jesus to the crowds and to His disciples, [2] “The
scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; [3] so practice and
observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach,
but do not practice. [4] They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and
lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them
with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for
they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they
love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
[7] and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by
men. [8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher,
and you are all brethren. [9] And call no man your father on earth,
for you have one Father, who is in Heaven. [10] Neither be called
masters, for you have one master, the Christ. [11] He who is greatest
among you shall be your servant; [12] whoever exalts himself will be
humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Commentary:

1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and
Pharisees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels to-
wards the ordinary mass of the people, who have been ill-used, “har-
assed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
His address may be divided into three parts: in the first (verses 1-12) He
identifies their principal vices and corrupt practices; in the second (verses
13-36) He confronts them and speaks His famous “woes”, which in effect
are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached in Chapter 5: no one can
enter the Kingdom of Heaven—no one can escape condemnation to the
flames—unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the third part
(verses 37-39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the evils
into which the blind pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and
Pharisees have misled the people.

2-3. Moses passed on to the people the Law received from God. The
scribes, who for the most part sided with the Pharisees, had the function
of educating the people in the Law of Moses; that is why they were said
to “sit on Moses’ seat”. Our Lord recognized that the scribes and Phari-
sees did have authority to teach the Law; but He warns the people and
His disciples to be sure to distinguish the Law as read out and taught in
the synagogues from the practical interpretations of the Law to be seen
in their leaders’ lifestyles. Some years later, St. Paul—a Pharisee like
his father before him—faced his former colleagues with exactly the same
kind of accusations as Jesus makes here: “You then who teach others,
ill you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you
steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit
adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in
the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is written,
`The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’”
(Romans 2:21-24).

5. “Phylacteries”: belts or bands carrying quotations from sacred Scrip-
ture which the Jews used to wear fastened to their arms or foreheads.
To mark themselves out as more religiously observant than others, the
Pharisees used to wear broader phylacteries. The fringes were light-blue
stripes on the hems of cloaks; the Pharisees ostentatiously wore broader
fringes.

8-10. Jesus comes to teach the truth; in fact, He is the Truth (John 14:6).
As a teacher, therefore, He is absolutely unique and unparalleled. “The
whole of Christ’s life was a continual teaching: His silences, His miracles,
His gestures, His prayer, His love for people, His special affection for the
little and the poor, His acceptance of the total sacrifice on the cross for
the redemption of the world, and His resurrection are the actualization of
His word and the fulfillment of revelation. Hence for Christians the crucifix
is one of the most sublime and popular images of Christ the Teacher.

“These considerations are in line with the great traditions of the Church
and they all strengthen our fervor with regard to Christ, the Teacher who
reveals God to man and man to himself, the Teacher who saves, sancti-
fies and guides, who lives, who speaks, rouses, moves, redresses,
judges, forgives, and goes with us day by day on the path of history, the
Teacher who comes and will come in glory” (John Paul II, “Catechesi
Tradendae”, 9).

11. The Pharisees were greedy for honor and recognition: our Lord insists
that every form of authority, particularly in the context of religion, should
be exercised as a form of service to others; it must not be used to indulge
personal vanity or greed. “He who is the greatest among you shall be
your servant”.

12. A spirit of pride and ambition is incompatible with being a disciple
of Christ. Here our Lord stresses the need for true humility, for anyone
who is to follow Him. The verbs “will be humbled”, “will be exalted” have
“God” as their active agent. Along the same lines, St. James preaches
that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
And in the “Magnificat”, the Blessed Virgin explains that the Lord “has
put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree
[the humble]” (Luke 1:52).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	Ruth 2:1 - 4:17 ©
Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, well-to-do and of Elimelech’s clan. His name was Boaz. Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go into the fields and glean among the ears of corn in the footsteps of some man who will look on me with favour’. And she said to her, ‘Go, my daughter’. So she set out and went to glean in the fields after the reapers. And it chanced that she came to that part of the fields which belonged to Boaz of Elimelech’s clan. Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Listen, my daughter, and understand this. You are not to glean in any other field, do not leave here but stay with my servants. Keep your eyes on whatever part of the field they are reaping and follow behind. I have ordered my servants not to molest you. And if you are thirsty, go to the pitchers and drink what the servants have drawn.’ Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground. And she said to him, ‘How have I so earned your favour that you take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?’ And Boaz answered her, I have been told all you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, and how you left your own father and mother and the land where you were born to come among a people whom you knew nothing about before you came here.’ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And when they came together, the Lord made her conceive and she bore a son. And the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has not left the dead man without next of kin this day to perpetuate his name in Israel. The child will be a comfort to you and the prop of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you and is more to you than seven sons has given him birth.’ And Naomi took the child to her own bosom and she became his nurse. And the women of the neighbourhood gave him a name. ‘A son has been born for Naomi’ they said; and they named him Obed. This was the father of David’s father, Jesse.

First reading

Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, well-to-do and of Elimelech’s clan. His name was Boaz.
Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go into the fields and glean among the ears of corn in the footsteps of some man who will look on me with favour’. And she said to her, ‘Go, my daughter’. So she set out and went to glean in the fields after the reapers. And it chanced that she came to that part of the fields which belonged to Boaz of Elimelech’s clan.
Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Listen, my daughter, and understand this. You are not to glean in any other field, do not leave here but stay with my servants. Keep your eyes on whatever part of the field they are reaping and follow behind. I have ordered my servants not to molest you. And if you are thirsty, go to the pitchers and drink what the servants have drawn.’ Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground. And she said to him, ‘How have I so earned your favour that you take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?’ And Boaz answered her, I have been told all you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, and how you left your own father and mother and the land where you were born to come among a people whom you knew nothing about before you came here.’
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And when they came together, the Lord made her conceive and she bore a son. And the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has not left the dead man without next of kin this day to perpetuate his name in Israel. The child will be a comfort to you and the prop of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you and is more to you than seven sons has given him birth.’ And Naomi took the child to her own bosom and she became his nurse.
And the women of the neighbourhood gave him a name. ‘A son has been born for Naomi’ they said; and they named him Obed. This was the father of David’s father, Jesse.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 127

Gospel	Matthew 23:1 - 12 ©
Then addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi. ‘You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will exalted.

Gospel

Then addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.
‘You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will exalted.