From the Daily Lectionary for Monday in the Fifth Week after Pentecost
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 market-places, 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.”
Jesus has just finished telling three parables aimed as critique at the system of privilege and elitism. In the crosshairs were the elite of his own people, the scribes, elders, Pharisees, and priests of Israel. Here he turns to the crowds following him, and to his disciples lest they all missed the point of the parables: Orthodox teaching is all fine and good, as is “right belief,” but it is what we do that shapes our faith. It is what we do that carries God’s authority, and God’s love for the world… the institutional status quo notwithstanding.
If Matthew were writing in our own time, his critics would bemoan the fact that he is being intensely political, challenging the social, economic, and political structures of our common life. And more importantly, Matthew is again making the case that faith is not in the believing, but in the “doing,” acting on the vision God has for the world, a world in which humility is honored, and arrogance rejected. At the heart of Jesus’ message is that all people are made in God’s image, and therefore all people have a right to well-being and dignity. That is simply not possible in a world contingent to strict hierarchy, in which power is held by only a few. Power corrupts, and power breeds hypocrisy and self-interest that belie empathy; empathy is what sustains community. Justice is the means of empathy. Power will always seek its own advantage on the backs of the powerless. And power gets institutionalized; it finds its way into the normalcy of human commerce. That is why we can say that sin is much more insidious, much more damaging, when it is structural. It takes commitment, and perhaps a revolutionary zeal to reverse its course, to stem the inertia of abuse.
Maybe that is one of the things the post-modern church lacks… zeal. The word in the Greek also means “passion.” It’s not that we don’t have passion, it’s just that it is so often misplaced. I am convinced that the church is in the midst of a remaking… from a place of comfort and solace, to a staging ground for mission; from self-care, to the loving care of the least of us. It is my hope for the church that we find renewed zeal, a reoriented passion for the poor, the outcast, the immigrant, the prisoner, for our brothers and sisters of color. The Jesus movement has always at its heart been counter-cultural… revolutionary. May our “doing” as the people of God be characterized by activism and advocacy. That has been God’s means and purpose all along… systems, institutions, and religion… all notwithstanding.
A Prayer for the Poor and the Neglected (BCP p. 826)
Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick, and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow into joy. Grant this, O God, for the love of your Son, who for our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
