Perform good works not because of praises but because God loves a cheerful giver

February 23, 2016

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

Saints of the Day:  Saint Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (+167) , Saint Serenus, Gardener and Martyr (+307)

Reading 1

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

10Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! 16Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; 17learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.

18Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.

19If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land; 20But if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

R. (23b)To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

8“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, for your burnt offerings are before me always. 9I take from your house no bullock, no goats out of your fold.”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

16b“Why do you recite my statutes, 16cand profess my covenant with your mouth,

17Though you hate discipline and cast My words behind you?”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

21“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes. 23He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies Me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Verse Before The Gospel Ezekiel 18:31

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

Gospel

Matthew 23:1-12

1Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,[1] 2saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.[2] 3Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. 4They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.[3]

5All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.[4] 6They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,[5] 7greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’

8As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’[6] You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. 10Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ.

11The greatest among you must be your servant. 12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Notes on Readings:

[1] Matthew 23:1-39 - The final section of the narrative part of the fifth book of the gospel is a denunciation by Jesus of the scribes and the Pharisees (see the footnote on Matthew 3:7). It depends in part on Mark and Q (compare with mark 12:38-39; Luke 11:37-52; 13:34-35, but in the main it is peculiar to Matthew. (For the reasons against considering this extensive body of sayings-material either as one of the structural discourses of this gospel or as part of the one that follows in Matthew 24, see the note on Matthew 19:1 - 23:39). While the tradition of a deep opposition between Jesus and the Pharisees is well founded, this speech reflects an opposition that goes beyond that of Jesus' ministry and must be seen as expressing the bitter conflict between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew at the time when the gospel was composed. The complaint often made that the speech ignores the positive qualities of Pharisaism and of its better representatives is true, but the complaint overlooks the circumstances that gave rise to the invective. Nor is the speech purely anti-Pharisaic. The evangelist discerns in his church many of the same faults that he finds in its opponents and warns his fellow Christians to look to their own conduct and attitudes.

[2] Matthew 23:2-3 - Have taken their seat . . . Moses: it is uncertain whether this is simply a metaphor for Mosaic teaching authority or refers to an actual chair on which the teacher sat. It has been proved that there was a seat so designated in synagogues of a later period than that of this gospel. Do and observe . . . they tell you: since the Matthean Jesus abrogates Mosaic law (Matthew 5:31-42), warns His disciples against the teaching of the Pharisees (Matthew 14:1-12), and, in this speech, denounces the Pharisees as blind guides in respect to their teaching on oaths (Matthew 16-22), this commandment to observe all things whatsoever they (the scribes and Pharisees) tell you cannot be taken as the evangelist's understanding of the proper standard of conduct for his church. The saying may reflect a period when the Matthean community was largely Jewish Christian and was still seeking to avoid a complete break with the synagogue. Matthew has incorporated this traditional material into the speech in accordance with his view of the course of salvation history, in which he portrays the time of Jesus' ministry as marked by the fidelity to the law, although with significant pointers to the new situation that would exist after His death and resurrection (see the footnote on Matthew 5;17-20). The crowds and the disciples (Matthew 23:1) are exhorted not to follow the example of the Jewish leaders, whose deeds do not conform to their teaching (Matthew 23:3).

[3] Matthew 23:4 - Tie up heavy burdens: see the footnote on Matthew 11:28.

[4] Matthew 23:5 - To the charge of preaching but not practicing (Matthew 23:3), Jesus adds that of acting in order to earn praise. The disciples have already been warned against this same fault (see the footnote on Matthew 6:1-18). Phylacteries: the Mosaic law required that during prayer small boxes containing parchments on which verses of scripture were written be worn on the left forearm and the forehead (see Exodus 13:9, 16; Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18). Tassels: see the footnote on Matthew 9:20. The widening of phylacteries and the lengthening of tassels were for the purpose of making these evidences of piety more noticeable.

[5] Matthew 23:6 - Compare with Mark 12:38-39. "Rabbi': literally, "my great one," a title of respect for teachers and leaders.

[6] Matthew 23:8-12 - These verses, warning against the use of various titles, are addressed to the disciples alone. While only the title "Rabbi' has been said to be used in addressing the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:7), the implication is that Father and "Master' also were. The prohibition of these titles to the disciples suggests that their use was present in Matthew's church. The Matthean Jesus forbids not only the titles but the spirit of superiority and pride that is shown by their acceptance. Whoever exalts . . . will be exalted: compare with Luke 14:11.