Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“One who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.”

 

Gospel Reading: Matthew 23:13-22

 

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.' Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.' You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it."

 

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus gets just little upset with the Pharisees because they are trying to outdo each other with their offerings. They put more worth in the offering itself instead of who it is being offered.  What good is it to take your treasures to the altar when the purpose of your offering is to impress others?  As they brought people to God, they required them to give large offerings to demonstrate their worthiness. Jesus tells them that it is not the offerings of gold and silver that make us worthy but the offerings from our heart.

 

What treasure do you bring to God’s altar?  The gold on the altar does not make the altar any more valuable. Jesus tells them, “You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?” We cannot make God any more valuable then he already is. There is nothing we can give him that will make God more Godly. God asks us to make a full commitment to Him and not to earthly things which are placed on the altar. The offerings that we bring and the oaths that we make must be to the altar of God and not to our treasures. We should not measure our heavenly value by our earthly treasures but by the commitment we give to God from our hearts.

 

Jesus tells the Pharisees that “One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.” Today’s gospel reading is a direct attack on the Pharisees because they treasure the wealth of the items that are placed on the altar and not the God that makes the treasures valuable. To enter the Kingdom of heaven, to make it through the narrow gate, we too must put our allegiance in the hands of God.  We must be willing to give our lives to God.  We must be willing to turn it all over to create heaven here on earth.

 

A Simple Prayer

 

Lord, you are my master and I am your servant.

My loyalty is to you and the things that are sacred,

For it is you that makes all things sacred.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon