Devotional Thoughts for the 5th Sunday after the feast of the Holy Cross - 16th Oct 201
Reading: From the Gospel according to St. Matthew 23: 1- 12
Dear and Respected Brethren,
First of all our Lord intends to remind us and inform us that “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” We are reminded of the position and its own importance of the priests and High Priests.
Where is the seat of the contemporary priests? Do they sit in the seat of Moses? In the Old Testament era, the seat of Moses was meant to interpret the laws of God. The ordinary people were brought near to God through the word of God and the priests and High Priests who were on the Moses’ seat enabled the ordinary faithful to realize the importance and significance of the word of God. In Nehemiah 8: 4 and 8: 8 we find Ezra the scribe reading the word of God and enabling the ordinary listeners to grasp the meanings therein. In Malachi 2:7 we read, “For the Priest’s lips should seek the law at his mouth, and they should seek in the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” In those days the Priests and High Priests were supposed to be messengers of God Almighty. In the New Testament era, the Priests became Ambassadors of Lord Jesus, who incarnated to redeem the mankind from the slavery of sins and death. Our Lord who became full man liberated the mankind from the slavery and entrusted the task of further liberation with the priests and High priests of the Christian Church. Our Priests and High Priests are liberating the faithful from the bondage of sins through the sacrament of Holy Confession and by administering the Holy Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. Our Church believes and teaches that the priesthood in the Church is the continuation of the priesthood of Moses, who first accepted the Priesthood from God along with his brother Aaron. That is why we sing the hymn “First of all Moses accepted the priesthood along with Aaron….” (Aadhyaacharathwam kai kond -Aharon Mosayodonnichu….) According to the teaching of St. Dionysius of Vattasseril, priests are the selected and appointed people by God Almighty for the conversion of animal natured people as Godly natured people. As our Lord taught us in today’s reading, we are obliged to follow the sayings and guidance of the priests and High Priests. Many try to follow the priests and High priests and get irritated when they realize that their role models are not apt and right. Why we should accept anyone else other than Lord Jesus as our role model? Our Lord reminds us that the perfection in the priests might not be there but still it is our duty and responsibility to observe their commands and instructions as they are sitting in the seat of Moses. Let us give heed to the great teaching of our Lord and Savior.
In verse 9 we read, “And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your father in, which is in heaven.” For the sake of the worldly and perishable gains, what all sorts of salutations are used by each and every one of us? How far we are conscious of our Father in heaven, though we recite the Lord’s Prayer many times a day? Our Lord taught us only one prayer, which insists us to pray for the entire humanity and His will as it is in heaven. We seek for His Kingdom and at the same time we all are interested in building up our own kingdoms with or without knowledge. Let us think how we could rectify our lives.
In verse 12 we all are reminded once again for the instantaneous need to be humble always in our day today dealings. We have to be humble and modest in our words, deeds and thoughts. Our Lord reminds us:”And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. We all are quite sure of this great truth, but at the same time we often forget the fact that God is the one who is exalting and abasing. If one is sure about this truth, he or she will never try to exalt himself or herself. In the contemporary world all of us are interested in the self exaltation. Hence we apply hooks and crooks to achieve our game. Even if we might achieve for a small period of time, we forget the great fall ahead of us. So let us try to be more humble, simple and modest in our words, deeds and thoughts.
May God bless us all.
Jose Kurian Puliyeril
Kottayam.