Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven

 

 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 

 

In our current readings, it is Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life.  Jesus has been in the temple in Jerusalem, teaching and disputing with the religious leaders.  Yesterday we read that when the Pharisees heard that Jesus 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."   Matthew's chapter 23 is a great indictment of the scribes and Pharisees, and their ways of practicing the faith.   My study Bible describes the themes included in today's section of this chapter in the following way:  1) The religious leaders have God-given authority to teach God's Law, but they are personally ungodly and cold-hearted.  Their teaching may be honored, but they cannot be imitated.  2)  God is the true Father and Teacher of all.  A teacher or father on earth is one who leads people to God, but the scribes and Pharisees do the opposite -- even as they place themselves in God's position.  To sit in Moses' seat means to hold the succession of office down from Moses himself, similarly to the way in the Church we have the succession from the apostles.  To be seated in the synagogue was the position of a teacher, and a sign of this authority.  My study Bible says that St. John Chrysostom noted that the scribes were depraved in thought and heart, but Jesus is still upholding the dignity of their office.  This is because the scribes speak not their own words, but God's, from Scripture.  So also within the Church, my study Bible says, the clergy are shown respect as they hold the apostolic office, even though they also are sinners.  Moreover, whatever sins of the clergy may exist, it does not relieve the people from their own responsibilities before God.  

"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.  My study Bible says that the purpose was to keep God's Law always in mind (see Exodus 13:9).  But the Pharisees, in Christ's description, use them as a show of false piety -- making them ever larger and more noticeable for this purpose.

 

 "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."  My study Bible comments that Christ's warnings against calling hypocrites father and teacher is not an absolute prohibition from using such terms.  "Father" and "teacher" are applied many times to people in the New Testament, and each of these usages are inspired by God.  Teacher is used in John 3:10; Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; and 2 Titus 1:11.  We find father used in Luke 16:24; 1 Corinthians 4:15; and Colossians 3:21.  From the earliest days of the Church, my study Bible comments, bishops and presbyters were called "father" not because they take the place of God, but because they act with fatherly care for their flocks, they lead people to God, and they also exercise fatherly authority within the community.  

My study Bible's commentary on the use of the title "Father" is quite useful for thinking about themes in today's passage of Christ's critique of the scribes and Pharisees.  For let us consider the ways in which we expect a good father to behave, the roles in which we expect a good father to act and to fulfill, and the responsibilities that go with such a position.  Of course, our own notions of what is truly the fulfillment of fatherhood come from God, and the ways in which Scripture has expressed to us the character of God the Father.  Please note that this ultimate role model of fatherhood also applies to women who are single parents, or who must take on the role of father for children and extended family for all kinds of reasons, and so the model still applies.  But when we think of the type of historical leadership a father of a family or tribe or extended clan was expected to embody, we have to consider Christ's words taken in their fullness of what He expected from His disciples, who would become the Fathers of the Church, and all those who would follow in their footsteps, even both as Fathers and Mothers of the Church.  What Jesus condemns is the hypocrisy of those who use their positions of authority for show, for clout, and to fulfill their own inflated or arrogant sense of their place in the community.  A good father of a family (or mother in the role of leadership) does not do this to care for family or others either.  Moreover, Christ's repeated emphasis for leadership is on humility.  This comes front and center.  When He emphasizes not to call one another "father" or "teacher," He does this by emphasizing that we all have one Father and one Teacher -- we have God the Father, and we have Christ the Son our Teacher.  Keeping such a thought in mind -- for all of us without exception -- is the real key to humility.  It's also the key to the kind of service that Christ expects from us, when He says, "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."  We remember Whom it is we seek to serve ultimately, and before Whom we need to humble ourselves.   This, again, is the model for a good father or head of a family.  For the flaws of the religious leaders are the flaws of a failed parent; the humility and service Christ teaches His disciples are the hallmarks of devoted and loving parents, especially in a leadership role.  So these teachings form a model for each of us, in the Church, in our communities, among our brothers and sisters, in our families.  Let us be humble in order to be exalted.