A New Approach to Religious Authority
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Matthew 23:1-12
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030326.cfm
In today’s gospel, Matthew calls out that Jesus is speaking to his disciples. While I believe that Jesus’s message is universally applied, calling out that Jesus was speaking to the disciples shows that the message being shared was providing guidance on how Jesus wanted the disciples to lead and carry on the mission once he is no longer physically with them.
Jesus says that the disciples should observe and do what the scribes and Pharisees say out of respect for their position in the seat of Moses, but they should not act as they act. Jesus’s observations of the Pharisees and scribes is to show how the disciples must operate differently than them. To carry on Jesus’s mission, the disciples must:
Not put heavy burdens on others, but help others with their burdens.
Not act to be seen, but do what is right without the need for recognition.
Not exaggerate religious accessories or show off religious practices, but live the faith.
Not seek out places of honor, but act as a servant to others.
Not seek out titles (Father or Rabbi) or positions of authority, but recognize equality with your fellow people.
The community of followers that Jesus is seeking is one of equality amongst all people. Jesus wanted the disciples, the ones founding and leading these communities, to take a far different approach than the example that was provided to them by the Pharisees and scribes. Those called to lead were to serve. Those called to lead were to live by example without seeking out recognition or focusing on appearance.
Left to our devices though, we have a need for power. We want all those things. We want systems that are hierarchical. We must have something to be earned. We must have rewards and punishments. We build churches in his name with branding and merchandise, relics, staged performances, titles, and seats of reverence. What Jesus said about the Pharisees and scribes can still be seen in the institutions we have today.
While Jesus did explain a lot in parables, he also spoke very directly and plainly as well. Today’s gospel is very plainly spoken and shown with examples. But we still find ways to tweak Jesus’s teaching to justify our need for power structures.
Pope Francis saw the need to move the Catholic Church more in the direction of these teachings when he created the Synod on Synodality. He included a lot of different groups in this synod that have not been recognized as Church authority in the past. Pope Francis was working to move the Church to one of greater equality amongst its members. There were different groups that saw this as a concern; ones who revere the existing hierarchy. While our traditions may have a preferred way, Jesus is calling us to be different.
There is but one authority, and it is not one of us. For in Christ, the greatest will be the servant, the exalted will be humble, and the humble will be exalted. We may want it differently and create a world that operates that way, but it is not what God is asking of us. If we truly pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are going to need to change our approach.
