Sunday readings in brief 31 A
Malachi 1:14-2:2,8-10; Psalm 130(131); 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9,13; Mathew 23:1-12
Priest’s office responsibility
Dear friends, today is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. We have three more Sundays to conclude this season. The scripture readings in the Ordinary time are carefully selected to instruct on one or two lessons every day of the season. Today’s readings converge towards the theme of “Priest’s office responsibility”. Therefore, this reflection will be more directed to those of us who are exercising the office of the priest but for the benefit of the rest of you who are the lay faithful.
In the first reading, through the prophet Malachi, God admonishes the priests who committed gross profanation of their office by not giving the correct instructions to the people. An excerpt from Mathew Henry’s Bible Commentary expounds more on this,
“But the crimes there charged upon them they were guilty of as sacrificers, and for those they might think it some excuse that they offered what the people brought, and therefore that, if they were not so good as they should be, it was not their fault, but the people’s; and therefore here the corruptions there complained of are traced to the source and spring of them-the faults the priests were guilty of as teachers of the people, as expositors of the law and the lively oracles; and this is a part of their office which still remains in the hands of gospel-ministers (who are appointed to be pastors and teachers, like the priests under the law, though not sacrificers, like them), and therefore by them the admonition here is to be particularly regarded. If the priests had given the people better instructions, the people would have brought better offerings; and therefore, the blame returns upon the priests.”
A priest is a servant of God who is charged with the responsibility of ministering to the people and intervening between the people and God by offering sacrifice on behalf of the people. Today, the priest is in persona Christi, (the person of Christ to the people). He must instruct and lead the people to offer dignified worship and sacrifices to God. The priest cannot blame the faithful for not offering proper sacrifices when he is the one offering them on their behalf. As I write this reflection, I feel the weight of the words in both the first reading and the Gospel on my very shoulders. In my four years as a pastor in the Maasai community, I have experienced firsthand how erroneous instructions or otherwise the lack of them can inhibit the people from experiencing the benefits of a true relationship with God.
The majority of the people here though baptized continue to practice traditional customs that are outrightly contrary to the Christian values they profess. In my keen study of the situation, I realized that many of them got baptized with very shallow catechetical instructions or not instructed at all. They received the Christian faith as a sugar coating on their traditions. In fact, the priests in many instances blessed many of their customs which made them think that these were in harmony with Christian values. For example, since it is customary for the responsibility of the parents to get the first wife for their son, they look for a young girl from a family of their choice and bring her home. Neither the son nor the girl has a say in this transaction, and therefore, they must fall in love at first sight, learn to love each other or be condemned to live together forever without loving each other.
This is one of the reasons why the majority of men have more than one wife. The second, third, and fourth… wife are the choice of the individual and the parents do not interfere. Now, many of these ceremonies were blessed with holy mass led by Christian priests. When you talk to honest men who have more than one wife as I did during my research, they will tell you that the truth of the matter is that they did not love the woman that their parents brought/bought for them, and that is why they married the second one that they loved. Of course, there are many other reasons as to why men marry a third, fourth, and even tenth wife. However, since this is supposed to be “Sunday readings in brief” I will save them for another day.
In the Gospel reading today Jesus is describing the situation of the priests in his time even more drastically. “They tie heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they will not even lift a finger to move them”. However, Jesus strongly urges the people to respect the office of the priest because it is ordained by God himself from the time of Moses: “The Scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say, but do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practice what they teach”. This speaks to you the laity that though the character and the behavior of a priest are important components of his ministry, they should not be a stumbling block for your faith. You do not worship the priest but God. The priest is an instrument for you to offer to God your prayers and offerings.
St. Paul in the second reading is commending Thessalonians for accepting the Word of God preached to them for what it really is. I too would like to commend many of you who send me comments saying you are blessed by this brief Sunday ministry.
Dear friends, though I feel that this reflection is meant for myself more than for the many of you who a lay people, I would like you also to reflect upon the kind of offerings and sacrifices you give to God. Are they correct or incorrect? If incorrect, is it because we the clergy did not instruct you well or is it because you did not heed our instructions. God has given men and women a kind of intelligence that he did not give to other animals. However, instead of using this intelligence and wisdom to become more intimate with God, man and woman are using it to stray further and further away from God and as a result, destroy themselves. The perishable earthly wisdom has made many people think that believing in God and practicing the faith is out of fashion but when they face serious calamities, they spend so many resources trying to buy miracles. Luckily enough there are others who use the same perishable earthly wisdom and have invested heavily in the miracle business. Just think about it. will you?
Have a blessed Sunday.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 