And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 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 on the same day Jesus was quizzed by the Pharisees and Herodians about paying taxes to Caesar, the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.  But 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."   Our readings skip over Matthew 22:41-46, as these verses were included in the reading for the eve of Ascension Day, on May 20th (see that reading here).

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples . . ..  Today's reading is the beginning of what would be Jesus' final public sermon.  It is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and the Pharisees.  There are several themes which Jesus will include.  First, while the Jewish leaders have God-given authority and teach God's Law, they are personally ungodly and cold-hearted.  This is an important distinction, and will shape the future of Christianity and Jesus' teachings to us.  As those with authority, the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees is to be honored, but they should not be imitated (verses 2-7, which are included in today's reading).  A second theme in this sermon is that God is our true Father and Teacher.  Just has Jesus has spoken of Himself as the One who leads people to the Father, so any teacher or father on earth is one who leads people to God.  But the scribes and Pharisees do the opposite; they place themselves in God's position, my study bible says (verses 8-12, also included in today's reading).  Christ then will proceed with an eightfold indictment of the scribes and Pharisees (verses 13-36).  He will charge them with inverting God's values, and as the commentary in my study bible phrases it, with being mean-spirited, judgmental, greedy, ambitious, absorbed in externals, and blindly self-righteous.  These charges are directed against the Jewish leaders of the day, but my study bible affirms that every single word applies equally to Christian religious leaders today who behave in the same way.

. . . 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."   My study bible explains that to sit in Moses' seat means to hold the succession of office down from Moses himself.  In the synagogue, the teacher would speak while seated as a sign of authority.  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom as commenting that the scribes were depraved in thought and heart, but Jesus still upholds the dignity of their office, as they speak not their own words but God's.  So it is likewise in the Church.  The clergy are shown respect as they hold the apostolic office, although they are also sinners.  Moreover, the sins of the clergy do not remove from the people their own responsibility before God.

"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.' "  Phylacteries are small leather pouches which contain passages of Scripture and are worn on the arm or forehead.  The concept is to keep God's Law always in mind (Exodus 13:9), but the Pharisees use them as a show of false piety, making them more and more large and noticeable.   The other highly conspicuous signs of elevated position and religious authority Jesus names we can easily recognize for ourselves.

"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."  Jesus' warning against calling hypocrites father and teacher, my study bible explains, is not an absolute prohibition against using these terms (as some falsely teach).  They are terms used, in fact, many times in the New Testament, each usage inspired by God.  Teacher is used in John 3:10, Acts 13:1, 1 Corinthians 12:28, and 2 Timothy 1:11.  Father is used in Luke 16:24, 1 Corinthians 4:15, and Colossians 3:21.    Since the earliest days of the Church, bishops and presbyters were called "father."  This is not because they take the place of God, my study bible explains, but rather because in their fatherly care for their flocks, they lead people to God, and they also exercise fatherly authority within the community.  In many cases, they have also died for their communities during times of persecution and hostility.

What does it mean to call someone a father?  Or to call someone a teacher?  These words, of course, are masculine words, and so are oriented toward men, but of course teachers come in all genders, and we also have many mothers who may have spiritual children.  So when we think of these words, what do we think of?  In all of Jesus' teaching, He holds firm to the concept that all things must serve God first.  When He's asked the greatest commandment in the Law (in Saturday's reading, above), He lists the first greatest commandment as "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  This takes priority over all things.  But then He lists the second, allied to it, as follows:  "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  Throughout Jesus' ministry, there has been one theme:  that when one sees Christ, one sees the Father.  He is here to lead all to the Father.  Moreover, He allies a new commandment to His followers to that teaching:  "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35).  In this unity of love, we find one insurmountable theme, and that is the theme of truth.  The reality of the God revealed by Christ is the truth, as He Himself is the truth, as expressed in "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  The ultimate truth is the reality of God the Father, reflected clearly in Christ, who is also our Teacher.  And whoever would call themselves father (or mother) or teacher must also lead to and live this truth in order to be qualified to carry such a name.  Otherwise they are false shepherds who mislead, false prophets who are wolves in sheep's clothing (7:15).  And there is really nothing in between.  We are either serving one thing or the other.  People may be confused and well-intentioned, or they may be deliberately misleading.  But either way, the choice is really between these two things:  we are either going (or being led) toward God, the ultimate truth -- or we are being led the other way, possibly by those merely in it for themselves, or misguided themselves.  Either way, it matters little, for ultimately there is repentance and hence correction available to all; a deep lack of repentance is already a sign of a problem.  And here we come to the heart of Christ's teachings in today's reading:  that it is hypocrisy that is the greatest sign of false teachers.  If Jesus is the Person who is truth (again, as in "I am the way, the truth, and the life"), then those who fail to truly lead us to Christ and the Father fail to be true teachers; they fail in caring for the spiritual health and well-being of their flocks.  Neither do they qualify as true spiritual fathers or mothers, for the kind of love that includes freedom in Christ's truth is missing.  Without a heart that is truly humble before and dedicated to God, we can't manage to find our own flaws and hence repentance.  To come to today's reflection of this teaching, we have but to look around us in social media, and how easily we find it is to do what is called "virtue-signalling."  Are we good or God-like because we put up a slogan on Twitter or Facebook?  It really doesn't matter what "side" one is on in terms of expressing some sort of God-like virtue of loving truth or even practicing love for neighbor and reflecting God's love in our own conduct.  It is all too easy to make a statement or slogan, to express oneself to be on the "right side" (whichever that might be), rather than to do the work Christ commands us to do.  Some people might be so busy with activity and sloganeering they forget to take the time to pray and come to terms with what God's calling them to.  We need to take time out for God, and to remember that to love God is done with all one's heart and soul and mind.  This is not achieved through joining up on the bandwagon with the latest slogan or following the group call to somehow "join up" or join in whatever activity is proffered today.  To root ourselves in the places that Christ asks us to be, to be certain that we are acting to avoid hypocrisy, we need a kind of regular withdrawal for prayer, just as Christ does Himself throughout the Gospels.  We need to "check in" with our real Father, and make certain we're on the path He offers; we need to pray with our true Teacher and dedicate ourselves to His teachings, asking for correction where it is needed, and making certain that repentance is for us always possible by remembering the essential need we have for humility, and staying away at times from the public's great cry of today.  We don't want to be like the crowds in the temple, who at one day welcome Christ, and the next are stirred to condemn Him to death on the Cross.  Our true teachers, and real fathers and mothers worthy of the name, will encourage each one of us to do the same, to find ourselves in prayer to Our Father, to come to ourselves (as did the Prodigal) in our true home which is in Christ and in the heart (John 14:23-24).  Especially in a time of public unrest such as we might see today, it is a good time to withdraw for prayer, and to center ourselves in that place where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit make their dwelling within us.  We have to remember Christ's words and teachings, and seek first Our Father, so that we know and recognize who are true fathers or mothers and true teachers.  In the Church we are left with many tools for doing this, from worship to the tools of prayer -- especially the Psalms, the Lord's Prayer (or "Our Father"), and the prayers of the Church.  Let us remember that the greatest among us -- those who would be teachers and fathers or mothers -- are those who are true servants, and that "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."