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Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
- Matthew 23:1-12
Yesterday, we read that when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'? If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men." Today's reading begins Jesus' final public sermon. In it, He criticizes religious leadership in several basic ways. As followers of Christ, we are not to see these criticisms merely as an indictment of the leadership of His time, but rather to take each word equally in application to the leadership of His Church should they behave in similar ways. My study bible says that Jesus charges them with being "mean-spirited, judgmental, greedy, ambitious, absorbed in externals, and blindly self-righteous." In these verses, Jesus speaks about the scribes and Pharisees who sit in Moses' seat. This means to hold the succession of office down from Moses himself; it is the honor of the office, which Jesus separates from the character of the particular men who may hold it. Jesus says, "Whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works." The men may be depraved in character, but the words they teach are those of Scripture, the "breath" or word of God. Within the Church, the way is the same: the office has dignity, even if those who hold it are flawed. My study bible adds that "furthermore, the sins of the clergy do not relieve the people from their responsibilities before God." Here, Jesus accuses the leadership of hypocrisy; rather than being good shepherds they bind and oppress their flock with burdens, using them rather than caring for them. Here's a root cause He cites: all their works they do to be seen by men. That's in opposition to the love of God as motivating priority, which should be true for any faithful person, particularly a leader of the faith.
"They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments." Phylacteries are small leather pouches which contain passages of Scripture. They are worn on the arm or forehead. The idea was to keep God's Law always in mind (Exodus 13:9). But Jesus says here they're used by these men as a show of false piety - making them increasingly larger and more noticeable.
"They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ." What they love is authority, as we've already seen during Jesus' dialogues with them in the temple, in which they question Jesus as to His authority to do what He's done (particularly in cleansing the temple of the money changers and animal sellers). Jesus groups His Church around one Teacher, and one Father. The rest, including the hierarchs, are to be brethren: brothers and sisters. The love of authority creates separation between the flock and its shepherds. Love of God, with Christ as teacher, groups all of us as children or sons in one family, all disciples with one teacher. This isn't a prohibition on the use of the names "teacher" or "father" to indicate a fatherly care for a flock, or one who teaches the words of Christ.
But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus emphasizes community. Like all the prophets before Him, His emphasis is on the care of the flock, on what makes a good shepherd. The real cornerstone for everything in His Church is love. That is, He is the head of the corner, but the entire edifice is to made from love: starting with love of God, as in the two great commandments we've just read about in His teaching -- love of God and love of neighbor. In Jesus' teaching, we are more than neighbors. We are brethren, and more -- the greatest among us are servants.
Jesus' teachings on humility in His leadership are really teachings about love, and about what creates community. We rally around the focal points of love: God and Christ. With these pillars who teach us love, the rest comes in humility. We're all part of the flock, all children and brethren, and He teaches us true care. I read recently an excerpt from a popular book that's winning a lot of awards and accolades in the United States. In it, the author describes his understanding of his identity as created by hate when he was younger: community came from those "others" he hated, and defined who he was. But Christ calls us to the absolute opposite: it is community created by Who we love. Community, in the model of Christ, is created and described in the two great commandments: love of God and love of neighbor. Within those commandments we learn the necessity of humility; that to truly be good servants to Christ and the Father, good disciples ("learners"), we need to understand proper relationships and to learn what love is. This is to be a community in which love as Christ teaches it is the glue, what makes for relationships and draws us together. Active love is taught in terms of how we are as neighbors, as brothers and sisters, as servants. But Jesus' words would not be here if to be faithful sheep meant we were to close our eyes to the things that don't make for community, and make instead poor leadership: hypocrisy, everything done to be seen by the "eyes of men" and to impress others, burdens of all kinds placed on the flock. Control by guilt seems to be a particular form of such burdens, rather than good instruction and appropriate correction: fears about what we might do wrong replacing an active love, social shaming (a form of authority by appearance to others) taking the place of passionate commitment to love of God and love of neighbor, and humility doesn't seem to get a mention these days in terms of what we consider admirable or a virtue. When we move off of His teachings, it doesn't really matter what form it takes. Sophistry hides in all kinds of disguises and shapes, even as weeds resemble wheat in one of Jesus' parables. So, we watch for the things that He teaches us to watch for. We remain faithful as He teaches, but we are also to be wise.
