Bible
Study: Ezekiel 43, 1 to 7 and Matthew 23, 1 to 12.
Once upon
a time, two brothers got engaged in an argument. One was humility, the other
was pride. As usual, Mr. Pride began to boast, “People love me so much because
I make them feel good. I have millions of followers all over the world from the
high places to the low places. Without me, no one feels okay about himself.”
Mr. Humility responded, “of course, people may love you but the truth is that
they don’t need you. You cannot claim to be more important than me because
without me, the world would be such a difficult place to live in.”
Mr. Pride
went on, “You see my brother, if you say they don’t need me, how come they love
me so much.” “Yes, they love you but why is that whenever you are with them,
they always stumble and crash” said Humility, “You are not a true friend, you
fill them with your nice perfume, they begin to look down on people only for
them to go down to square one, Mr. Pride you need to be sincere with people,
stop making them feel like gods when they are still humans.” Mr. Pride laughed
loudly, “Is it my fault that I make people feel good? Is it my fault that I
have a nice aroma? Well those who have been with me and tasted the other side
of disgrace should be wiser. Isn’t it? But I wonder why they keep coming back
for me. Could it be that each time I deal with them, they forgive so easily and
come back again? Perhaps they don’t even know when I am with them. I am sweet
but dangerous”
. . . .
In every
human being, there is an element of pride. We love to feel good about
ourselves. We love to justify our actions before God and before our fellow men.
Pride begins with comparing ourselves to others and feeling that we are better
or more privileged than other people. Once we begin to feel we have what others
lack, we try to make people ‘see’ our good sides, we want people to bow to us
and worship us, we want people to greet us obsequiously in public and
acknowledge our goodness. This is what Jesus Christ condemns in today’s gospel
passage.
In truth
no human being is capable of doing anything good entirely on his own. We are
like the moon reflecting light from the Sun. Whatever good we do is a
reflection of light from God himself just like the moon receives light from the
sun. Problem starts when the moon begins to feel that he is a generator of
light and begins to take glory in itself. This is what happens precisely when
we feel that we have ‘arrived’ in terms of holiness. You are what you are today
simply by the grace of God. Never look down on others.
Only God
deserves praise and worship, never ascribe to a human being the glory that
really belongs to God. This is what Jesus meant when he said we should call no
one on earth “Father” or “Master.” He is not saying we should become
disrespectful to our parents or to those in authority, he simple wants us to
know that only God deserves our complete praise and admiration. The vision of
Ezekiel in today’s first reading is one that shows the glory of God, he paints
images that should remain in our minds when we think of God.
Today we
celebrate the memorial of St. Bernard, an Abbot and one of the Doctors of the
Church. He is called a doctor because his writings have been found worthy of
consumption and free from any doctrinal error. As our opening prayer says of
him, St. Bernard was a man consumed with zeal for God’s house and a light
shining and burning in the church.
Unlike the
Pharisees that Jesus speaks about in today’s Gospel passage, we remember St.
Barnard today because he was a man who preached the word of God with his mouth
and with his pen and also practiced what he preached. He did not lay up burdens
on men’s shoulders without making effort to carry any himself. He was not a man
who loved to display goodness before others to be seen or admired by them.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, help me to be a humble light like St. Bernard and not a proud actor like
the Pharisees. Amen
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Happy Weekend.
Fr. Abu
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