Matthew 23: 1-12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Humbly Trust in God
I don’t know about you, but I see lots of people with broad phylacteries and long fringes, taking places of honor and placing heavy burdens on others. The final line, “all who exalt themselves shall be humbled,” engenders a certain schadenfreude in me. Alas. I don’t think Jesus is instructing us to hope for the downfall of those scribes and Pharisees, but to hope in God.
But of course, this brings me around to what my own phylacteries and fringes look like. Am I seeing myself as better than, or perhaps driving myself in an effort to prove myself to others with “temptations of excess good,” as St. Ignatius would ask?
I can get into judging others easily, therefore, exalting myself. Shall I give in to my ego today, or humbly trust God to lead me and guide me?
—Donna K. Becher, M.S. is an associate spiritual director at the West Virginia Institute for Spirituality in Charleston, West Virginia. Her training is rooted in the Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Prayer
O God,
I offer myself to you,
To build me and do with me as you will.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
That I may better do your will.
Take away my difficulties,
That victory over them may bear witness to
Those I would help of
Your power, Your love, and your way of life.
—Third Step Prayer (Alcoholics Anonymous)
Pray with the Pope
Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.