Monday, August 25, 2025

Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 1:1-5.8b-10; Matthew 23:13-22)

In today’s gospel Jesus launches a diatribe against the Pharisees.  He accuses them, above all, of being hypocritical -- that is, of saying one thing and doing another. But one should not think that all Pharisees were like this.  In truth, Jesus had friends who were Pharisees and the Pharisaic movement saved Judaism from extinction after Rome destroyed Jerusalem.  Nevertheless, because of the impact of the gospels on Western civilization, the two terms “Pharisees” and “hypocrites” have become virtually synonymous.

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with seven beatitudes designating those who are welcome in the Kingdom of God.  Here he begins his final apocalyptic sermon with seven “woes” indicating those who will be excluded from Paradise.   We hear three of the woes today, two tomorrow, and two on Wednesday at Mass.

Jesus likely intended his diatribe against Judaism – a reformist criticism from a faithful Jew.  However, in Matthew’s gospel it became associated with the scribes and Pharisees because of their reaction against Christians at the time of Matthew’s writing after Jerusalem’s destruction.  The denunciation should also be seen as a warning to Church leaders.  Religious people like us run the danger of using our positive status to exploit others.  True followers of Jesus will realize that transparency and humility are hallmarks of Christian practice.

Monday, August 22, 2022

 Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(II Thessalonians 1:1-5.11-12; Matthew 23:13-22)

The gospel is “good news” because it announces the uplifting of the humble with the downfall of the proud.  Mary exemplifies this revolution.  She did not come from a prominent family, nor was she especially gifted as commonly thought.  But she served others without calling attention to herself.  She had other gospel qualities like prayerfulness.  For these reasons the Church, in a movement that took centuries to mature, has proclaimed her an exception to the rule that one waits for the end of time to experience eternal life in body and spirit.  To clarify the singularity of Mary’s state the Church today celebrates her also as Queen of heaven and earth.

The conceited and unjust are found in every age and in every place.  In the gospel they are most often represented by the scribes and Pharisees.  Jesus frequently tangles with them as is in today’s passage.  He calls them “blind fools” because they cannot see their own inconsistencies.  Although not all scribes and Pharisees reject Jesus’ call to humble service, some do exploit their privilege to despise common people.

We can always look to Jesus as a model and for intercession.  He was human like us.  Still, we need other examples of holiness for reassurance that the narrow road is indeed passable.  Mary fulfills this need before all others.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(II Thessalonians 1:1-5.11-12; Matthew 23:13-22)

Catholics genuflect before the tabernacle containing the Eucharistic bread.  For much the same reason we bow before the altar in church.  The altar is hardly just a table that is used to sit the bread which becomes the body of Christ.  Much more significantly, it symbolizes Christ standing as it does in the most prominent place in the church, itself a symbol of the People of God.  Much like Jesus complains of the scribes and Pharisees in today’s gospel, many people fail to give the altar its due respect.

In reading gospel passages like the one today one may have the false impression that the scribes and Pharisees are necessarily evil men.  Actually, like in almost any group of religious people, some are sincere in their religious fervor while others are opportunists who feign piety to belittle the poor and to enrich themselves.  This behavior is the polar opposite to the care for others that God has asked of those profess belief.

We might consider thinking about what Jesus expects of us when we give him honor by genuflecting and bowing.  He is the Lord who commands us to be humble toward others and to trust in him for our needs and not in deception.  When we pay him homage with a symbolic gesture, we are professing our commitment to obey him.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Memorial of Saint Monica

(II Thessalonians 1:1-5.11-12; Matthew 23:13-22)

We meet Jesus today in Jerusalem. He has just thrown the money changers out of the Temple and is waiting to encounter the wrath of the religious leaders. In the meantime, he criticizes the Pharisees for their erroneous teaching.

It may be that Jesus was not as irate with the Pharisees as this reading indicates. After all, the Gospel of Matthew was written fifty years after Jesus died. By then Judaism was reforming itself after the Romans demolished the Temple. Its religious leaders, predominantly Pharisees, had to make distinctions between Jews fully-committed to Torah and synagogue attendees who put their faith in Jesus. They would persecute the latter in a way similar to the Inquisition when the Church punished false Catholics. Matthew shows how Jesus would have defended his followers if he were present in the late first century. But we should listen to Jesus’ diatribe against the Pharisees as a critique of religious zealotry in general.

Jesus’ first charge is that Pharisees deprive people of access to the Kingdom. In other words he implies that the Jewish leaders actually prevent people from knowing God! Priests who have abused children sexually and thereby have created grave doubts not only in their victims but also in society fall under this weighty condemnation. Then Jesus criticizes the Pharisees’ proselytism which makes fanatics of religious converts. We might find a contemporary parallel in a convert from Islam or Buddhism who denies that the possibility of the Holy Spirit working within the hearts of their former religious associates. We know that the Holy Spirit definitely works through the Church and its sacraments, but we cannot deny the possibility of His accomplishing salvation through other means. Finally, Jesus condemns the way Pharisees manipulate the law by drawing meaningless distinctions between gold and Temple or between gift and altar. Teachers who say that the unmarried may have sex as long as it is done “responsibly” or that one can “make up” for missing mass on Sunday by attending mass on a weekday make the same kinds of wrongful distinction as the Pharisees here.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, virgin

(II Thessalonians 1:1-5.11-12; Matthew 23:13-22)

We meet Jesus today in Jerusalem. He has just thrown the money changers out of the Temple and is waiting to encounter the wrath of the religious leaders. In the meantime, he criticizes the Pharisees for their erroneous teaching.

But let us not think that Jesus was historically as irate with the Pharisees as this gospel indicates. The setting reflects the situation of the Church at the time of Matthew’s writing, some fifty years after Jesus died. By then Judaism was reforming itself after the Romans demolished the Temple. Its religious leaders, predominantly Pharisees, had to make distinctions Jews between fully-committed to the Law and synagogue attendees who put their faith in Jesus. They would persecute the latter in a way similar to the Inquisition when the Church punished false Catholics. Matthew shows how Jesus might have defended his followers if he were present in the late first century. We should listen to Jesus’ diatribe against the Pharisees as a critique of religious hypocrisy in general.

Jesus’ first charge is that Pharisees deprive people of access to the Kingdom. In other words he implies that the Jewish leaders actually prevent people from knowing God! Priests who have abused children sexually and thereby have created grave doubts not only in their victims but also in society fall under this weighty condemnation. Then Jesus criticizes the Pharisees’ proselytism which makes fanatics of religious converts. We might find a contemporary example here in a convert from Islam or Buddhism who denies that the possibility of the Holy Spirit working within the hearts of their former religious associates. We know that the Holy Spirit definitely works through the Church and its sacraments, but we cannot deny the possibility of His accomplishing salvation through other means. Finally, Jesus condemns the way Pharisees manipulate the law by drawing meaningless distinctions between gold and Temple or between gift and altar. Teachers who say that the unmarried may have sex as long as it is done “responsibly” or that one can “make up” for missing mass on Sunday by attending mass on a weekday make the same kinds of wrongful distinction as the Pharisees here.

Homilette for Monday, August 25, 2008

Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Matthew 23:13-22)

We meet Jesus is in Jerusalem. He has just cleansed the Temple and is waiting for the wrath of the religious leaders to fall upon him. In the meantime, he criticizes the Pharisees for their erroneous teaching. But we should not think that Jesus was historically as incensed with the Pharisees as today’s gospel indicates. The setting reflects the situation of the Church at the time of Matthew’s writing, perhaps fifty years after Jesus died. By then Judaism was reforming itself after the Romans demolished the Temple. Its religious leaders, predominantly Pharisees, had to draw lines in the sand to distinguish its full-fledged followers from those synagogue attendees who might be Christian at heart. They would persecute these Christians in a way similar to the Inquisition when the Church punished false Catholics. Matthew shows how Jesus might have defended his followers if he were present in the late first century. In any case we might listen to Jesus’ diatribe against the Pharisees as a critique of religious exploitation in general.

Jesus’ first charge is that Pharisees deprive people of access to the Kingdom. In other words the religious leaders actually prevent people from knowing God. Priest and ministers who have extravagant lifestyles or who have abused the faithful physically or mentally fall under this weighty condemnation. Then Jesus criticizes the Pharisees’ proselytism which makes fanatics of religious converts. We might find a contemporary example here in a convert from Islam or Buddhism who denies that the possibility of the Holy Spirit working within the hearts of their former religious associates. We know that the Holy Spirit works definitively through the Church and its sacraments, but we cannot deny the possibility of salvation to people outside the Church. Finally, Jesus condemns the way Pharisees manipulate the law by drawing meaningless distinctions between gold and Temple or between gift and altar. Catholic teachers who say that the unmarried may have sex as long as it is done “responsibly” or that one is free to miss mass on Sunday as long as he or she go once during the week make the same kind of wrongful distinction as the Pharisees here.