Memorial of Saint Pius X, pope
(Ezekiel 37:1-14; Matthew 22: 32-40)
On a sitcom a long time ago, a man talked about going to see
a famous cowboy entertainer. He says
that the organizers of the event set up a pistol drawing contest between and
all challengers. The man boasted because
he beat the cowboy star to the draw. He
said that he was able to do it because he was last in line. By the time he faced off with the cowboy, the
entertainer was so tired that he could barely lift the pistol from his
holster.
In today’s gospel Jesus faces a series of challengers. After cleaning out the temple area in
Jerusalem, the different groups come to discredit him. First, the chief priests and the elders question
Jesus about his authority. He answers
them by asking about the authority of John – a controversial issue which the
Jewish leaders refuse to touch. Then the
Pharisees try to trap Jesus with the question of paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus shrewdly tells them that one should
give to Caesar’s what belongs to Caesar.
Then the Sadducees propose to Jesus the ridiculous story of seven
brothers marrying the same woman in succession to prove that there can be no
resurrection from the dead. Jesus
refutes their claim by saying that in the resurrection there is no
marriage. In today’s gospel another
pharisee tries to trip Jesus with the question of the greatest
commandment. Jesus deftly answers by saying
that the greatest is to love God and the second is to love other humans. Unlike
the cowboy entertainer, Jesus never wearies of giving the right answers.
Today the Church honors Pope St. Pius X. His pontificate was famous for allowing
children to receive Holy Communion and for resolving the Modernist crisis. Modernism was a movement within the Church challenging
the authenticity of the gospels.
Historians agree that Pius was heavy-handed in resolving the
crisis. But he did defend the unique greatness
of Jesus as today’s gospel shows. For
the superiority of Jesus’ teaching as well as the proclamations made about his
life, especially his resurrection from the dead, Jesus is rightly called the uncreated,
only begotten Son of God.
