Lectionary 151: More on Earthly Leaders & How to Respond to Them

Key:

What these passages tell us about God

What these passages tell us to do

What these passages tell us not to do

Commentary/observations

Reading 1 MAL 1:14B-2:2B, 8-10                                                     

A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. And now, O priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. You have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction; you have made void the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts. I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions. Have we not all the one father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another, violating the covenant of our fathers?

Responsorial Psalm PS 131:1, 2, 3                                                    

R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD, both now and forever.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

Reading 2 1 THES 2:7B-9, 13                                                             

Brothers and sisters: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.  With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.  You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.  Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.

Alleluia MT 23:9B, 10B                                                                       

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have but one Father in heaven and one master, the Christ.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 23:1-12                                                                                 

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.  Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.  For they preach but they do not practice.  They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.  All their works are performed to be seen.  They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.  They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'

As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.  Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ.  The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

1.    God’s righteousness and power transcends and is supreme over all human leaders, regardless of those leaders’ earthly status.

2.   Leaders who turn away from God’s righteous ways eventually fall. That is explicit in the first reading. It is also seen in today’s gospel when it is read in the light of history; the Pharisees who had such social status when Jesus gave this teaching had the rug pulled out from under them when Jerusalem was destroyed approximately 40 years later in 70 A.D. Today’s readings exemplify a well settled scriptural principle: those who do evil eventually fall.

3.   Today’s readings tell us how to respond when we find ourselves under such leaders:

-       Trust in, go to, rely on God. Find peace in Him (psalm). God is our refuge, and His ways bring peace.

-       Be true to and take solace in Christian community (last sentence of first reading, by negative implication).

-       Humbly keep focused on what God has given you to do, and don’t be distracted by the politics/drama around the bad leader (psalm & gospel).  See  Sirach 3:17-23,  Sirach 11:20-21, and 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 for more on this.   

-       Obey the directions of legitimate authorities, but do not follow the examples/adopt the attitudes of corrupt leaders (gospel). Lectionary 145  from a few weeks ago also dealt with this.

-        To the extent that you have influence/leadership responsibility, exercise it righteously and with humility (gospel).

4.   So what does a righteous leader look like? We see that described in the second reading: He is humble. He genuinely cares for those God places in his charge and seeks real relationship with them. He puts the gospel at the center of his work and his relationships. He works hard/makes sacrifices so as not to be a burden on those he leads. Jesus describes some of those things in the last few verses of the gospel reading.