20250823 THE ONE MASTER, TEACHER, AND FATHER
23 August 2025, Saturday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ruth 2:1-3,8-11,4:13-17 |
Ruth gives birth to Obed, the grandfather of David
Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, well-to-do and of Elimelech’s clan. His name was Boaz.
Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go into the fields and glean among the ears of corn in the footsteps of some man who will look on me with favour.’ And she said to her, ‘Go, my daughter.’ So she set out and went to glean in the fields after the reapers. And it chanced that she came to that part of the fields which belonged to Boaz of Elimelech’s clan.
Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Listen, my daughter, and understand this. You are not to glean in any other field, do not leave here but stay with my servants. Keep your eyes on whatever part of the field they are reaping and follow behind. I have ordered my servants not to molest you. And if you are thirsty, go to the pitchers and drink what the servants have drawn.’ Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground. And she said to him, ‘How have I so earned your favour that you take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?’ And Boaz answered her, ‘I have been told all you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, and how you left your own father and mother and the land where you were born to come among a people whom you knew nothing about before you came here.’
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And when they came together, the Lord made her conceive and she bore a son. And the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has not left the dead man without next of kin this day to perpetuate his name in Israel. The child will be a comfort to you and the prop of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you and is more to you than seven sons has given him birth.’ And Naomi took the child to her own bosom and she became his nurse.
And the women of the neighbourhood gave him a name. ‘A son has been born for Naomi’ they said; and they named him Obed. This was the father of David’s father, Jesse.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 127(128):1-5 |
Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.
Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:36,29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt23:9,10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You have only one Father,
and he is in heaven;
you have only one Teacher,
the Christ.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 23:1-12 |
They do not practise what they preach
Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.
‘You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’
THE ONE MASTER, TEACHER, AND FATHER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [RUTH 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17; MT 23:1-12]
A common question that people often ask is: why do we address our priests as “Father” when the Gospel specifically says that we must call no one on earth “Father”, since we have only one Father? Of course, they often forget that if we were to apply literally what Jesus said, then we should also stop addressing our earthly father as “Father” as well. And not only with regard to our own father, but the terms, “Teacher” and “Master” should also be forbidden. Consequently, those who question why priests are addressed as “Father” are reading the Scriptures literally, or are simply ignorant of the real meaning of the Scriptures. Like the former, they have interpreted the words of Jesus out of context.
Hence, if we are to grasp the full import of Jesus’ words, we must find out the context. What, then, is the context? It is this: the Jewish religious leaders were not doing what they preached. Instead, we are told that they “tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders” but do not lift a finger to move them. Furthermore, they did things to impress people so that they might be honoured. In other words, the real issue that Jesus was addressing was the failure of religious leaders to put into practice what they preached. This, surely, is a cause of scandal. Of course, the failure of the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the Priests is also our failure today. Whether as priests or lay leaders, we often fail in our example. Quite often, we do not practise what we preach, and in so doing, we disqualify ourselves from being called “Father” in the faith.
Conversely, those who practise what they preach and live righteous and holy lives are considered our Fathers in faith. St Paul himself called Timothy “my true son in the faith” (1 Tim 1:2). He also addressed Titus as “my true son in our common faith” (Tit 1:4). In the letter to Philemon, St Paul wrote, “I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison” (Phil 1:10). St John in his letters, addressed his audience as “My little children.” (Cf 1 Jn 2:1; 12). Abraham, of course, is universally acclaimed as the Father of faith in the New Testament (cf Rom 4:12; Heb 11:11). The early Church theologians and bishops who were renowned for their faith and orthodoxy in theology are given the title “Fathers of the Church”. Hence, the word “Father” is given to all those who impart the faith to us, either by their teaching or by their holiness of life. So when Catholics address their priests reverentially with the title “Father”, or call the Pope the “Holy Father”, they are not denying that God is their Father. Rather, they acknowledge that these men are responsible for imparting the faith to them.
The next question, therefore, is: how do we respond to those religious leaders who preach without doing? The truth is that, for most of us, we do not wish to listen to those who preach without demonstrating their words in their lives. We shut our ears to them the moment we hear them preaching. However, Jesus advises us today that such an attitude would be detrimental to our well-being and spiritual life. By ignoring the teaching of the religious leaders, we deprive ourselves of spiritual food and guidance. Thus, instead of closing our ears and minds, Jesus told His disciples, “You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say.” Of course, we must not “be guided by what they do”. This command of Jesus – to remain open even to hypocritical leaders – may sound difficult for us.
This obstacle can be resolved if we understand the basis of Jesus’ exhortation. If we are called to listen to religious leaders regardless of their way of life, it is because they are merely instruments of God. All human and religious masters, teachers, or fathers are simply means by which God reaches out to us. Human fatherhood is founded on the Fatherhood of God. Every authority – teaching or otherwise – is rooted in the authority of God. In the final analysis, there is only one Teacher, one Master and one Father.
The corollary therefore is this: to listen to the human teacher, master, or father is to listen to God who works through them. What is important is that we listen to what religious leaders teach, even if they do not practise it in their lives. They themselves are accountable before God. We should not be too judgmental of them, nor should we be too concerned that they are not living out the Gospel truth. Our part is simply to hear the authentic word of God and to imitate Jesus, who is the only true Teacher and Master, and who alone can lead us to God, our real and only Father. As the axiom says, we should not throw the baby out with the bath water. Otherwise, we only harm ourselves.
In other words, we must make a distinction between ontological truths and existential truths. So long as leaders are speaking the ontological truths, then we must believe and listen to what they say. This is not to say that it is unimportant whether religious leaders live out the existential truths in their lives. It certainly does matter. For unless ontological truths are expressed in existential truths, people will have doubts about the ontological truths that are spoken or taught. Religious leaders who do not live up to what they preach will lose credibility – not because what they say is untrue, but because it becomes less convincing to those who have not yet experienced these truths for themselves.
However, it is equally true that none of us can claim always to live by what we preach, because we are imperfect. This does not mean that we are disqualified from teaching altogether. If we were only to teach what we already live perfectly, we would have nothing much to teach at all. The truth is that we do not preach ourselves. We are not the measure of truth, wisdom, or goodness. We preach Jesus and His Gospel. We preach the goal, the reality, and the truth that we have received from Christ.
As the Gospel tells us today, there is only one Father, one Teacher, and one Master. Only the true Teacher, Master and Father is perfectly consistent in word and action. Of course, only Jesus Himself is one with His words. In Him alone, the message and the messenger are one. Within this context, we must certainly say that no one on earth can be called Teacher, Master or Father. For the rest of us, we can only imitate Jesus, our real teacher, and hope one day to become like Him. Realizing our own inadequacies and failures to be consistent in word and deed, we must all the more recognise that we are only poor instruments of God. Hence, whether as teachers, superiors, or fathers – religious or otherwise – we must draw closer to Jesus, our real Master, and the Holy Spirit, our inner Teacher, so that we can imitate God, our heavenly Father.
Let us imitate the good example of Ruth, who was faithful to her mother-in-law, Noami, to her people, and her God. It was her fidelity to her mother-in-law and to her people that won the admiration of Boaz, who said: “I have been told all you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, and how you left your own father and mother and the land where you were born to come among a people whom you knew nothing about before you came here.” Because of this, Boaz married her, and she gave birth to Obed, who was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Indeed, it was Ruth’s fidelity to her faith that made possible the coming of the Messiah. We too are called to be faithful to the people we are called to serve, by being faithful to God in our lives. In this way, we too become spiritual fathers and mothers to those who come to know God through us.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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