31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (가해 연중 제31주일)


1st Reading: Malachi 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10

Shortcomings of priests
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[14b] For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name is feared
among the nations. 

[1] "And now, O priests, this command is for you. [2] If you will not listen, if you
will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then
I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings.

[8] But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble
by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of
hosts, [9] and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inas-
much as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction." 
[10] Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we
faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

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Commentary:

The second part of the oracle (2:1-9) is an exhortation to priests. The prophet re-
proaches them for not honouring the Lord (2:1; cf. 1:6) and for causing many to
stumble "by your instruction" (2:8), or "by the Law" (which is another possible
translation), and moreover they have shown partiality (2:9): it all means that they
are breaking the covenant that the Lord made with Levi (2:4-5; cf. Deut 18-8; 33:
8-11). For their ministry to be effective (2:2-3), they should practise the virtues
that Levi had -- fear of God, humility, sincerity in speech (2:5-6). This last aspect
is given special emphasis: a priest does not speak on his own behalf; he is the
Lord's messenger ("mal'ak"), and his words should have the wisdom of the Law
(2:7). The Second Vatican Council says something that recalls this passage, on
the subject of the priest's mission to preach: "The people of God are joined toge-
ther primarily by the word of the living God. And rightfully they expect this from
their priests. Since no one can be saved who does not first believe, priests, as
co-workers with their bishops, have the primary duty of proclaiming the Gospel
of God to all. In this way they fulfill the command of the Lord ... and [they] estab-
lish and build up the people of God" ("Presbyterorum ordinis", 4).


2nd Reading:  1 Thessalonians 2:7b-9,13

First Gospel Preaching in Thessalonica
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[7] But we were gentle among you, like a nurse taking care of her chil-
dren. [8] So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with
you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had be-
come very dear to us. [9] For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we 
worked night and days that we might not burden any of you, while we preached 
to you the gospel of God.

Their Patience
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[13] And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word
of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as
what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

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Commentary:

7-9. St Paul could have "made demands" in a double sense--by using the full
force of his apostolic authority, and by exercising his right to financial support
from the community (cf. 1 Cor 9:14); but he did neither one thing (vv. 7-8) nor
the other (v. 9).

On the contrary, he passed on the Gospel message and worked with the dis-
interested love and dedication of a nursing mother. St John Chrysostom, putting
himself in St Paul's place, comments as follows: "It is true that I preached the
Gospel to you in obedience to a commandment from God; but I love you with so
great a love that I would have been ready to die for you. That is the perfect model
of sincere, genuine love. A Christian who loves his neighbor should be inspired
by these sentiments. He should not wait to be asked to give up his life for his
brother; rather, he should offer it himself" ("Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.").

"The work of evangelization presupposes in the evangelizer an ever increasing
love for those whom he is evangelizing [...]. What is this love? It is much more
than that of a teacher; it is the love of a father; and again, it is the love of a mo-
ther. It is this love that the Lord expects from every preacher of the Gospel, from
every builder of the Church. A sign of love will be the concern to give the truth
and to bring people into unity [...]. Yet another sign of love will be the effort to
transmit to Christians not doubts and uncertainties born of an erudition poorly
assimilated but certainties that are solid because they are anchored in the
Word of God. The faithful need these certainties for their Christian life; they
have a right to them, as children of God" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 79).

The Apostle's hardworking life strengthened his moral authority when he had to
warn people against the temptation of idleness (cf. 1 Thess 4:11; it also was a
very good example for the early generations of Christians.

13. Initially divine Revelation was passed on to others orally. "It [Gospel prea-
ching] was done by the Apostles, who handed on (by the spoken word of their
preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established) what
they themselves received--whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life
and his works, or whether as something learned from the Holy Spirit" (Vatican II,
"Dei Verbum", 7). Thus, "the apostles, in handing on what they themselves had
received warn the faithful to maintain the traditions which they had learned either
by word of mouth or by letter (cf. 2 Thess 2:15); and they warn them to fight hard
for the faith that had been handed on to them once and for all (cf. Jude 3). What
was handed on by the apostles comprises everything that serves to make the
people of God live their lives in holiness and increase their faith. In this way the
Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every ge-
neration all that she herself is, all that she believes" ("Dei Verbum", 8).

Preaching is truly the "word of God" not only because it faithfully passes Revela-
tion on but also because God himself speaks through those who proclaim the
Gospel (cf. 2 Cor 5:20). This explains why "the word of God is living and active"
(Heb 4:12), and "such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve
the Church as her support and vigor, and the children of the Church as strength
for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life" ("Dei
Verbum", 21).
　

Gospel Reading: Matthew 23:1-12

Vices of the Scribes and Pharisees
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[1] Then said Jesus to the crowds and to His disciples, [2] "The scribes and the
Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; [3] so practice and observe whatever they tell you,
but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. [4] They bind heavy
burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves
will not move them with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by
men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they
love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, [7] and
salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. [8] But you are
not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. [9] And
call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in Heaven. [10]
Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. [11] He who is
greatest among you shall be your servant; [12] whoever exalts himself will be
humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

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Commentary:

1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and Phari-
sees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels towards the ordi-
nary mass of the people, who have been ill-used, "harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). His address may be divided into
three parts: in the first (verses 1-12) He identifies their principal vices and cor-
rupt practices; in the second (verses 13-36) He confronts them and speaks His
famous "woes", which in effect are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached
in Chapter 5: no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven--no one can escape con-
demnation to the flames -- unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the
third part (verses 37-39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the evils
into which the blind pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and Pharisees
have misled the people.

2-3. Moses passed on to the people the Law received from God. The scribes,
who for the most part sided with the Pharisees, had the function of educating the
people in the Law of Moses; that is why they were said to "sit on Moses' seat".
Our Lord recognized that the scribes and Pharisees did have authority to teach
the Law; but He warns the people and His disciples to be sure to distinguish the
Law as read out and taught in the synagogues from the practical interpretations
of the Law to be seen in their leaders' lifestyles. Some years later, St. Paul--a
Pharisee like his father before him--faced his former colleagues with exactly the
same kind of accusations as Jesus makes here: "You then who teach others,
will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 
You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You
who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor
God by breaking the law? For, as it is written, 'The name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles because of you'" (Romans 2:21-24).

5. "Phylacteries": belts or bands carrying quotations from sacred Scripture which
the Jews used to wear fastened to their arms or foreheads. To mark themselves
out as more religiously observant than others, the Pharisees used to wear broa-
der phylacteries. The fringes were light-blue stripes on the hems of cloaks; the
Pharisees ostentatiously wore broader fringes.

8-10. Jesus comes to teach the truth; in fact, He is the Truth (John 14:6). As a
teacher, therefore, He is absolutely unique and unparalleled. "The whole of
Christ's life was a continual teaching: His silences, His miracles, His gestures,
His prayer, His love for people, His special affection for the little and the poor,
His acceptance of the total sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of the world,
and His resurrection are the actualization of His word and the fulfillment of reve-
lation. Hence for Christians the crucifix is one of the most sublime and popular
images of Christ the Teacher.

"These considerations are in line with the great traditions of the Church and
they all strengthen our fervor with regard to Christ, the Teacher who reveals God
to man and man to himself, the Teacher who saves, sanctifies and guides, who
lives, who speaks, rouses, moves, redresses, judges, forgives, and goes with us
day by day on the path of history, the Teacher who comes and will come in glo-
ry" (John Paul II, "Catechesi Tradendae", 9).

11. The Pharisees were greedy for honor and recognition: our Lord insists that
every form of authority, particularly in the context of religion, should be exercised
as a form of service to others; it must not be used to indulge personal vanity or
greed. "He who is the greatest among you shall be your servant".

12. A spirit of pride and ambition is incompatible with being a disciple of Christ.
Here our Lord stresses the need for true humility, for anyone who is to follow Him.
The verbs "will be humbled", "will be exalted" have "God" as their active agent. A-
long the same lines, St. James preaches that "God opposes the proud, but gives
grace to the humble" (James 4:6). And in the "Magnificat", the Blessed Virgin ex-
plains that the Lord "has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted
those of low degree [the humble]" (Luke 1:52).

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.


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