The WORD in other words (2009) Fr Erasio Flores SVD – Catholic Trade Manila
Tuesday 21st Week in Ordinary Time
Christ, the Son of God, the Incarnate Word of the Father, was “the Holy One of God.” Yet his enemies were not the sinners, but the Pharisees, the guardians of the Law of Moses. On the call of Levi (Matthew), the Pharisees find fault with Jesus saying: “How is it that you eat and drink with tax collectors and other sinners?” (Luke 5, 30). Jesus answered: “I have come to call sinners, not the righteous.”
And why were the Pharisees the enemies of Jesus? Because of their hypocrisy.
Today’s Gospel tells us of Jesus’s strong denunciations against them: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You pay tithes… and have neglected the weightier things of the law.” (Mt 23, 23) In a parallel passages in Luke 11, 43ff Jesus said: A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the first seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you for you are like tombstones of the dead … people make themselves unclean by stepping on them.”
I think, to a certain extent, we are all guilty of hypocrisy. But there are people in our midst who have institutionalized hypocrisy and lies and insincerity to the point of repugnance. They love the first seats in the “synagogues” and in the “market places.” They are hungry for prominence and power. When election time comes, they become super-friendly, shaking hands with everybody. But we know that those handshakes are a mockery. They mean nothing more than our votes. They make sweet promises. But we know exactly that these are nothing but empty words. The poor have become wise, if not practical. They flock to them, not for what they stand for, but to get money to buy their daily needs.
Our officials love to display their accomplishments in public places—highways, bridges, kiosks, etc. They advertise their names on billboards bearing the words: “Project of Congressman So-and-So,” or “Project of Senator So-and-So.” This is actually ridiculous, because using public funds for personal propaganda is tantamount to misappropriation of funds. In Europe and, I suppose, also in other countries which are less corrupt, they put instead these words: “THIS IS WHERE YOUR TAXES GO!” or “THIS IS WHERE THE MONEY OF THE PEOPLE GOES!”
The Word of God has the power to change hearts. We all need a change of heart. We reflect on God’s Word for our conversion. We have to rid our country of a social cancer that is eating up the moral fiber of our people. We must pray especially for our politicians so that they have a change of heart.
