The Secret of Service

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and 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.'
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.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

There is a lot of meat on the bones of today's reading.  The biggest issue that comes up because of these words of Jesus is that of "call no man father."  I could take the easy way out and discuss this because we did so not too long ago. So, no, we are not going to go into that subject but rather let's take this reading as a whole and see what we can harvest from it. 

The scribes and the Pharisees are taken to task for their failure to practice what they preach.  Back then, the learned would gather at the temple and all day long they would discuss The Law and how it should be observed by the people.  For example, there were dozens if not hundreds of rules that specified what you could or could not do on the Sabbath. There were so many rules that the average man in the field could not know them all but he could be assured that if he broke one of these laws and a Pharisee observed it, he would be in for a talking to. The laws multiplied and soon man was serving the Sabbath instead of the Sabbath being a day of rest for the man.  Jesus called them out on their ability to make laws and weigh people down.

He also pointed out how the Pharisees made a show of their faith. They would enlarge the things they wore around their neck that was supposed to keep the law next to their hearts.  Instead, this religious symbol shouted out, "Look at me peasant and behold who holy and devoted I am."  What they did they did for show and to collect human respect.  

They also would make sure that at any gathering they would occupy the places of honor and they would make sure people would know that they were present and seated properly amongst the dignitaries by loudly greeting their friends so that the friends would notice their high station.  Ego was everything to these men.

We can see that what was lacking in all of these practices was service. Everything they did was self-serving and meant to impress others. God had, at best, taken second place with these fellows.   Jesus calls us to be different.  He calls us to serve others.  We can achieve greatness by being willing to be the last and least of all.  That is one of the secrets to happiness.  We ourselves can make our selves happier when we let humility guide our actions.  We may have great talents.  People may be impressed with who you are and what you have done because you yourself are not impressed with yourself.  Do it not for reward or because you want to be noticed, do it for the love of Our Lord and serve Him with all you do. 

Make this Saturday special.  Say a Rosary for a poor soul in Purgatory.  They will appreciate it.