Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.” In today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 23:1-12), Jesus criticizes the scribes and the Pharisees for their self glorifying righteousness and false piety. He tells his disciples to “practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.” Jesus tells us, “They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.” But who doesn’t want to be recognized when they do something good? We need to be willing to do things for others because we want to do it, not so others will praise us. God sees us truly as we are. We are completely exposed to the eyes of God. He sees us as the sinners we truly are. The scribes and the Pharisees wanted to set an example; but in doing so they eventually set themselves on the pedestal above all others. They wanted people to focus their attention on them and their own actions and not on the will of God. When we do things to show off our religious zeal, then we too are placing our self above God. Jesus calls us to be humble and to be contrite. We should do good deeds not to impress others, but to honor God for all He has given us. When we humble ourselves, we remove the barriers of pride. We also remove the fear of inferiority. This frees our heart to open and giving to others. Jesus said, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” If we truly want to be exalted, we must first become humble.

A Simple Prayer Lord Jesus, you were the servant of all mankind. Teach me to be humble and contrite. Teach me to love my neighbor as myself.

Yours in Christ Michael Marcon