GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
In the Gospel portion today, taken from Mathew 23, Jesus speaks of the Pharisees and scribes, who are the spiritual leaders of the Jewish religion. He tells of how they are predominantly concerned with their position in the community, their rank as priests and even their attire. This is a concerning matter for Jesus because the Pharisees were called to their priestly order in order to bring the Jewish people closer to God, through their traditions and practices. Instead of fulfilling this calling, they became overwhelming obsessed with their position as Pharisees and the respect and prestige that came with it. Jesus explains that they would go to gatherings/religious ceremonies and expect the best seats. Further, they wanted to be called “teacher” or in Hebrew, “rabbi,” as a form of flattery. All these examples were said by Christ in order to point out the fact that Pharisees “idolized” the position of Pharisee (and the same for scribes). In other words, they did not have a sense of humility that their position was given to them as a gift from God. Rather, they exalted themselves, becoming self-absorbed. It was a sort of worship of position, title, and rank. This was so because they found their identity in themselves…in what they did…their position, rank, and title, rather than in God. By extension rather than becoming a servant to serve the people, and bringing them closer to God, they wanted to be served by the people. They lost sight of their initial calling.
This can happen to us as well. We are not immune.
Idolatry of the Priesthood/Ministry: Priesthood in the Church, lay ministry, or any form of leadership can become a position that we idolize. Because with it, comes respect and prestige. One may say there is no such thing for Lay Ministers in the Church; however, there is a possibility that we can become self-absorbed with our responsibilities, and in turn, have a sense of power.
Career position: We all have a career, and some of us are really successful in our careers. We might be in a position of influence or have many people under us. Often, we can become self-absorbed. Our identity becomes about the position and influence and even the amount of money we make.
These are but two examples. There are possibly more. The point here is that like the Pharisees we can become self-absorbed and lose sight of our true identity; that is, who we are…the substance of our being…the purpose of our life. So then where does our identity lie? It lies in Christ. We are not to be defined by our priest, ministry, or career but by Christ alone. In this, we do the work that we are called to do.
I am not saying that we should not seek to serve God in the positions of the church or cooperation. In fact, I think we should. That said, we should be careful that we not become egotistical with ourselves in that position or be defined by that position in a manner that surpasses Christ.