Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin
Biographical Information about St. Rose of Lima[1]
Readings for Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Ezekiel 43:1-7ab
Ezekiel’s vision sees the restoration of the temple and the return of God. He speaks from a period of exile in Babylon and envisions a time when the temple will be rebuilt and God’s presence with his people will be eternal. That which was destroyed will be rebuilt, God’s salvation will be offered to those who were defeated and are without hope.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
Psalm 85 is a lament in which the psalmist expresses the hope of the faithful, that God will once more dwell with them and be active in his salvific works. God’s renewed presence is remembered in a time when the exiles have returned home (fulfilling Ezekiel’s vision).
Gospel Matthew 23:1-12
This passage is the introduction to the invective against the Scribes and Pharisees. This reading sets the stage for the “Seven Woes” which follow in the chapter. St. Matthew uses Jesus' teaching about the leaders of the Jewish faith as counter-examples of what the leaders of the Christian faith must be like. The scribes and Pharisees, lead from the authority given by the Temple. According to the Gospel, they did not practice what they taught and performed their worship for others to see rather than out of true faith and worship of God.
The passage concludes saying that the true leader of the faith must be first the servant of others, as Jesus himself came to serve, not to be served. The final line of the passage is a summary; “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Reflection:
n: St. Matthew’s Gospel continues to support the idea that one’s faith must be supported by actions that are in accordance with that faith in order for salvation or justification to be assured. In this Gospel we see a clearer definition about what those actions must be.
Clearly Jesus does not approve of the behavior of the Jewish leadership – the Scribes and the Pharisees, formal and informal leaders of the faith community. They have, as a group, fallen into two traps. The first of these we will liken to Tai Chi. Most people think of Tai Chi as a form of exercise that relaxes joints and strengthens muscles. That’s what it is; but it came from the marshal arts – Kung fu was were it got its origins. Anyone who has studied marshal arts like Kung fu, Tae Kwon Do, or Karate has had to learn what are called forms. Forms are set actions done in a specific order that help the student refine either attack or defensive techniques. They are done vigorously and require great coordination, timing, and concentration. In Tae Kwon Do for instance (the only one I am intimately familiar with) there are nine forms to be learned that lead up to black belt and then additional forms to be created or learned as a person continues toward mastery. Tai Chi took the concept of forms and slowed them down to a point were they no longer represent or train for combat but for the sake of the form itself; in other words, its all for show, its original purpose obscured or forgotten.
Does that mean that Tai Chi has no benefits? Not at all, benefit can still be derived from it but if one is attacked, Tai Chi training is not likely to help one defend one’s self; the reflexes are not trained. In the same way the leaders of the temple became so focused on the rigorous “letter of the law” they forgot what the law as intended to accomplish – behaviors that would lead to God’s Kingdom on earth.
The second trap the Scribes and Pharisees fell into was an all too human one. They were given positions of authority and because their own focus was on the letter of the law and they thought they had gotten so good at it, they assumed that they should be honored for their attentiveness to the 613 commandments that make up Mosaic Law. They saw their attention to detail as meriting them special attention and places of honor. In a sense they became ornamental without real purpose.
The lessons we derive from this scripture are compelling. We, first and foremost, must be constantly alert so that we do not become arrogant in our faith. We must never focus so intensely on the precepts of the faith that we loose sight of their practical application in the world around us. The first time that happens we may find ourselves saying something like; “But St. Peter, I should not have to spend that much time in Purgatory, I prayed the rosary every day!”
Pax
[1] The icon of “St. Rose of Lima” by Robert Lentz, contemporary iconifer.
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
Biographical Information about St. Rose of Lima[1]
Readings for Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Ezekiel 43:1-7ab
Ezekiel’s vision sees the restoration of the temple and the return of God. He speaks from a period of exile in Babylon and envisions a time when the temple will be rebuilt and God’s presence with his people will be eternal. That which was destroyed will be rebuilt, God’s salvation will be offered to those who were defeated and are without hope.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
Psalm 85 is a lament in which the psalmist expresses the hope of the faithful, that God will once more dwell with them and be active in his salvific works. God’s renewed presence is remembered in a time when the exiles have returned home (fulfilling Ezekiel’s vision).
Gospel Matthew 23:1-12
This passage is the introduction to the invective against the Scribes and Pharisees. This reading sets the stage for the “Seven Woes” which follow in the chapter. St. Matthew uses Jesus' teaching about the leaders of the Jewish faith as counter-examples of what the leaders of the Christian faith must be like. The scribes and Pharisees, lead from the authority given by the Temple. According to the Gospel, they did not practice what they taught and performed their worship for others to see rather than out of true faith and worship of God.
The passage concludes saying that the true leader of the faith must be first the servant of others, as Jesus himself came to serve, not to be served. The final line of the passage is a summary; “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Reflection:
n: St. Matthew’s Gospel continues to support the idea that one’s faith must be supported by actions that are in accordance with that faith in order for salvation or justification to be assured. In this Gospel we see a clearer definition about what those actions must be.
Clearly Jesus does not approve of the behavior of the Jewish leadership – the Scribes and the Pharisees, formal and informal leaders of the faith community. They have, as a group, fallen into two traps. The first of these we will liken to Tai Chi. Most people think of Tai Chi as a form of exercise that relaxes joints and strengthens muscles. That’s what it is; but it came from the marshal arts – Kung fu was were it got its origins. Anyone who has studied marshal arts like Kung fu, Tae Kwon Do, or Karate has had to learn what are called forms. Forms are set actions done in a specific order that help the student refine either attack or defensive techniques. They are done vigorously and require great coordination, timing, and concentration. In Tae Kwon Do for instance (the only one I am intimately familiar with) there are nine forms to be learned that lead up to black belt and then additional forms to be created or learned as a person continues toward mastery. Tai Chi took the concept of forms and slowed them down to a point were they no longer represent or train for combat but for the sake of the form itself; in other words, its all for show, its original purpose obscured or forgotten.
Does that mean that Tai Chi has no benefits? Not at all, benefit can still be derived from it but if one is attacked, Tai Chi training is not likely to help one defend one’s self; the reflexes are not trained. In the same way the leaders of the temple became so focused on the rigorous “letter of the law” they forgot what the law as intended to accomplish – behaviors that would lead to God’s Kingdom on earth.
The second trap the Scribes and Pharisees fell into was an all too human one. They were given positions of authority and because their own focus was on the letter of the law and they thought they had gotten so good at it, they assumed that they should be honored for their attentiveness to the 613 commandments that make up Mosaic Law. They saw their attention to detail as meriting them special attention and places of honor. In a sense they became ornamental without real purpose.
The lessons we derive from this scripture are compelling. We, first and foremost, must be constantly alert so that we do not become arrogant in our faith. We must never focus so intensely on the precepts of the faith that we loose sight of their practical application in the world around us. The first time that happens we may find ourselves saying something like; “But St. Peter, I should not have to spend that much time in Purgatory, I prayed the rosary every day!”
Pax
[1] The icon of “St. Rose of Lima” by Robert Lentz, contemporary iconifer.
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
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