Mal.1:14-2:2, 8-10
1 Thess. 2:7-9, 13
Mt. 23:1-12
Prophet Malachi lived some four hundred and fifty years before Jesus was born and wrote his book some eight years after the Jews had returned from exile. The first years after returning home, the Jews were fervent and grateful to God for having brought them back. But soon, they became cold and apathetic walking away from righteousness. According to Malachi, the main cause for religious laxity among the people and failure to keep the law was the unworthy conduct of their priests: They did not live up to the righteousness of their role and they failed in the duty of instructing the people in the Law of Moses. In their sinfulness, they had influenced others to turn to sin. In their pride, they have neither shown reverence in their service to God nor given him glory. Malachi condemns the priests for their lack of authenticity and humility. Instead of leading the people to honor God and follow his law, they have strayed from it and are leading them astray with their false teachings. This exactly happens when we fail to be authentic as priests, religious or lay persons. When we fail to be humble and serve God with sincerity of heart, we become imposters and hypocrites; and rather than lead people to God, we lead them astray. We know that the unworthy conduct of priests and religious and indeed all of us who bear the name Christian, is the bane of Christian evangelism.
Malachi’s condemnation of the priests of his day anticipates Jesus’s condemnation of the Scribes and the Pharisees in the Gospel today. He tells the people, “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 practice what they preach.” Jesus accused them of hypocrisy; they did not practice what they preached. Hypocrisy was their greatest sin; nothing caused greater harm among the people they were supposed to lead to God than the contradiction between their preaching and the way they lived. Not practicing what we preach will always be an obstacle to the propagation of the Gospel. We must take care to be diligent in putting into practice what we preach. He also accused them of acting for the wrong reason: “Everything they do is to attract attention.” They longed to be admired as wise and holy and so they wore broader phylacteries and longer tassels. A Christian is not to draw attention to himself but to God and act with the purest of intentions; to give glory to God and be motivated by the desire to please God. He also accused them of pride and love of honor and titles; they liked to sit in places of honor and be called Rabbi.
By indicting the Scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus contrasted their behavior with the authenticity, simplicity and humility he desired to see in his disciples. We must avoid every ostentation and pride. The Lord wants us to become who we are; his disciples, who practice what they preach. True greatness is found in humility and authenticity.
Happy Sunday,
Fr Chidi Onwuka, m.ss.cc
Fr. Chidi Onwuka m.ss.cc.