The Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 23:13-22)
and St. Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians (Thessalonians 1:2-10) seem to be
juxtaposed for the point of comparing those who are living a holy life and
those who are pretending to. The
Pharisees were those who said the right things according to God’s word but failed
to act in accordance with it (Matthew 23: 3-4), while the Thessalonians endured
suffering and opposition when first following Christ but didn’t depart in words
and actions from all that Paul had taught them about following Christ. The
Thessalonians’ faith became known everywhere because of their example, their
faithful actions.
The Gospel reminds me of a
conversation I had once with a priest about my own church and about some of the
people in it. As I was venting about the
people and things in my Church that cause me heartache and confusion, I became
kind of embarrassed and ashamed. I
realized that I was sounding self-righteous and arrogant- that only my views
are right and holy (the exact characteristics in others that I was lamenting
about a few seconds before!). When I
voiced this, the priest said, “It’s ok to vent about things that trouble you
but try to avoid publicly slandering people whom you don’t agree with. When we do that, we display the very qualities
that we detest in others.” Unfortunately,
as I sat to pray about and write this reflection, I initially thought of
writing about those who seem to be like the Pharisees to me; those to whom, in
my mind, God surely says, “Woe!”- those who were the topic of my conversation with
my priest. Instead, I’m reminded of the
wise priest’s words and that I’m always in danger of being just like the
Pharisees myself in that my words and actions don’t always match. I take seriously the words of Christ to “love
one another” (John 13:34-35) and
sometimes I do this well, but I’m also quick to judge my brothers and sisters
whose opinions differ from my own, and “make them twice as much
a son of hell” as I am.
Instead I want to emulate the
Thessalonians whose “work is produced by faith, labor prompted
by love, and endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” I want
to welcome the message with joy each time I hear it and use it toward the above
means instead of using it to find fault with my brothers and sisters. If I’m preoccupied with making sure my work is
the fruit of my faith and love for others and for Christ, I won’t have time worry
about the words and deeds of others. And,
Christ fully expects that, if we take His greatest commandment (Mark 12:28-34)
seriously, we’ll love everyone, even those we’re tempted to judge and slander.
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