Daily Readings August 25, 2012

Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 424

Reading 1 Ez 43:1-7ab

The angel led me to the gate which faces the east,and there I saw the glory of the God of Israelcoming from the east.

Yesterday we began in the New Testament book of Reveleations with the angel showing St. John the Bride of Christ.  Today we go back to the Old Testament and begin with the angel leading Ezekiel to the east facing gate where he sees the glory of God.

I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters,and the earth shone with his glory.

I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters.  If you have ever been to a place like Niagara falls, you  understand this metaphor.  The sound of a large volume of water racing past you is deafening.
Ezekiel says this is how the glory of the Lord sounded and that it made the earth shine in the splendor of His glory.

The vision was like that which I had seenwhen he came to destroy the city,and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar.

Ezekiel had seen this vision before, when God came to destroy the city and by the river Chebar.

I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the templeby way of the gate which faces the east,but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court.

Ezekiel fell on his face before the Lord when He entered the temple through the east facing gate.  But the angel (i.e. spirit) lifted him up and brought him to the inner court.

And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple,while the man stood beside me.The voice said to me:Son of man, this is where my throne shall be,this is where I will set the soles of my feet;here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever.

and a voice spoke to Ezekiel from within the temple and said, "Son of man, I am re-establishing my throne in Israel, here in my temple, where I will dwell with Israel, forever."

This then, shows that God had forgiven Israel for their sins and had come back to dwell amongst His people.  If we compare to yesterdays first reading, we see the parallel of the Church, or Temple, within which God dwells with His people after the Final Judgment.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 85:9ab And 10, 11-12, 13-14

Response. (see 10b) The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD --for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.

R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.

R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.

R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

The Psalm makes reference to the heavenly Jerusalem, wherein God will dwell with His people.

Revelation 21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. ...

Gospel Mt 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,"The scribes and the Phariseeshave taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

Protestants frequently are surprised to find out that Jesus commended Traditions.  This Tradition was established long ago, when Moses used to sit before the people and tell them the will of God.

Exodus 18:13-15
King James Version (KJV)
¹³ And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. ¹⁴ And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? ¹⁵ And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:

After his demise, the Jews continued the Tradition.

Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,

And Jesus says the Pharisees have inherited this authority and the commands the Jews to obey them.

but do not follow their example.For they preach but they do not practice.They tie up heavy burdens hard to carryand lay them on people's shoulders,but they will not lift a finger to move them.All their works are performed to be seen.They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'

He tells them not to follow the example of the Pharisees because they have become too prideful and do good things, not because of their faith in God, but in order to show off and get the adulation of men.  In another place, Jesus says it like this:

Matthew 6:5
King James Version (KJV)
⁵ And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.Call no one on earth your father;you have but one Father in heaven.Do not be called 'Master';you have but one master, the Christ. 

Then Jesus gives a lesson which Protestants misunderstand. They focus on the second reservation given by Christ,  "Do not call anyone on earth your father."    But the skip right over the other two."  Do not call anyone 'rabbi'", which means "teacher" and do not call anyone "master".  Which, in that day and age, also meant "teacher".

Funny thing.  Many times I've pointed out to Protestants that they also call their "dad", father.  And, in rebuttal, some have said, "I don't call my dad, father."  ???  My response to that is very simple, "you just called your dad, father, because dad means 'father'."

I could go on and on about this.  Suffice to say that Jesus did not forbid us to call anyone father.  If He had, He would be contradicting the Fifth Commandment of His Heavenly Father.  You can hardly honor your father if you won't even acknowledge that he is your father.

The greatest among you must be your servant.Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Here is the point that Jesus was making.  The context before these reservations is about a group of people who had made themselves superior to the rest of the people.  They wanted everyone else to be their servants.  But Jesus said this is not the way to heaven.  Those go to heaven who humble themselves and make themselves the servants of others.  This speaks volumes for the spiritual condition of our wives and mothers, doesn't it.  God will surely exalt them because they have humbled themselves for us.  And this is also the example that the Saints leave behind for us.

Sincerely,

De Maria