Reading
Matthew 23:1-12
23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is 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 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Meditation
The Scriptures recognize the Levites and priests the authority to decide on the application of the Mosaic law, but the scribes and Pharisees had gone beyond legitimate authority by adding human traditions to the word of God. Jesus urges us to follow what they preach, but to the extent to which it conforms to the Scriptures; in fact, he condemns the "heavy burdens" of the extra-biblical tradition that they place on the shoulders of the people.
The life of faith is greater than mere religiosity; on the contrary, when the latter is confined in legalism and precepts, man's distance from God increases. Woe to those who close the kingdom of God to men, because they do not enter it and even those who want to enter it do not let in! (Mt 23:13).
The phylacteries were small leather boxes containing scrolls bearing some biblical verses. They were tied on the forehead and on the left arm during prayer, according to a strictly literal observance of the exhortations contained in the Exodus (Ex 13:9) and in Deuteronomy (Dt 6: 8). The Pharisees materially interpreted the commandment to keep the law of God before the eyes, but they had lost sight of the road that leads to him by becoming "blind and guides of the blind" (Mt 15:14). By making the laces of the phylacteries and the fringes of the cloak (which were to remember the Ten Commandments) longer, they sought to be noticed and admired.
Jesus himself wore the mantle for prayer; he does not condemn, therefore, its use, but the will to appear, typical of the Pharisees. Even the use of the titles "rabbi", "father", "teacher" is not prohibited per se, but to the extent that it becomes a claim and a reason for pride for those who are the recipients of it. Indeed, Paul repeatedly speaks of "teachers" in the Church and often also defines them as "fathers" (1 Cor 4:15), exhorting to show respect to them (1 Thess 5:11-12; 1 Tim 5:1); he also calls himself "father", towards those whom he gave birth to the faith, but the title is used by him to emphasize his affection and not his own prestige. The use of these titles is also reprehensible to the extent that man is recognized as a source of authority above God, while Moses acted as a mere mediator between God and men.
The fault of the Pharisees is to build a religiosity devoid of that joyful aspect that springs from the awareness of being called by God to participate in his creation and in his work of redemption. Jesus also reproaches their hypocrisy, because they indulge themselves but preach great rigor. Even the Christian risks falling into this sin, when he projects onto others those expectations of observance that he is unable to satisfy in himself.
But there is a worse attitude: that of those who show themselves religious in order to be praised by others. These, as stated by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount "have already received their reward" (Mt 6,2.5). The admonitions he addressed to the crowds - but also to the disciples (v. 1) - are an invitation to coherence, without which our testimony of the Gospel loses solidity.
More than phylacteries, we must always keep before our eyes the example of the one who was a master in serving. Only by placing ourselves in the seat that belongs to the disciples will we be able to overcome the tendency to feel "righteous" before God and men. If we are humble, we will be true. And if we are true we will abide in Jesus: Way, Truth, and Life.
Prayer
O Lord, you give us the joy of being saved; allow us to go to your school, to learn from you who are meek and humble of heart. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
