20220315 ARE YOU DEFINED BY YOUR TITLES OR BY YOUR IDENTITY?
15 March, 2022, Tuesday, 2nd Week of Lent
First reading |
Isaiah 1:10,16-20 © |
Cease to do evil; learn to do good
Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the command of our God,
you people of Gomorrah.
‘Wash, make yourselves clean.
Take your wrong-doing out of my sight.
Cease to do evil.
Learn to do good,
search for justice,
help the oppressed,
be just to the orphan,
plead for the widow.
‘Come now, let us talk this over,
says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
‘If you are willing to obey,
you shall eat the good things of the earth.
But if you persist in rebellion,
the sword shall eat you instead.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 49(50):8-9,16-17,21,23 © |
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
‘But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
‘You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?
A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.’
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:17 |
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Or: | Ezk18:31 |
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Shake off all your sins – it is the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
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.’
ARE YOU DEFINED BY YOUR TITLES OR BY YOUR IDENTITY?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [IS1:10,16-20; PS 50:8-9,16-17,21,23; MT 23:1-12]
“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.” Why did Jesus forbid the disciples to be addressed as Rabbi, teacher and father?
In truth it is not wrong to greet someone by his title or his office. Otherwise, we cannot address our own fathers as “father” or our teachers as “teacher”, much less to call a priest “Father” and “teacher.” Yet, the Law of Moses instructs all fathers to be teachers. Even St Paul called himself father in the faith. “In Christ Jesus I became your father through the Gospel.” (1 Cor 4:15) St Paul regarded Timothy as his son. He regarded himself as the father of those converted to the faith. “As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” (1 Th 2:10-12) For this same reason, we call the Pope, the “Holy Father” and his priests, simply, “Father”.
So the real intention is not so much the title at all. On the contrary, Jesus wants us to be reminded that our lives should not be defined by our titles or office. This is the gist of today’s message.
Why is it wrong or dangerous to be defined by one’s title?
When we are defined by our titles, we become preoccupied with what people think of us. Instead of focusing on our job and responsibilities that come from the title, we are more worried about whether they call us by our title, whether they respect us and give us the due honour. The focus is not on service, or on God, or on others but on us. This precisely was the fault of the Jewish leaders whom Jesus criticized. “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.” When that happens, we become very petty over people slighting us, or obsessed with ceremonials and rules, forgetting the more important matters of service. Pride sets in and we know that pride is the cause of our fall. “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov 16:18)
Secondly, when we are defined by our titles, we become anxious about what we do and about ourselves. We are concerned about the impression people have of us. We are worried about public acceptance of us and our popularity. As a consequence, we become slaves to their opinions and do popular things to please them. This can cause us stress as we become more ambitious and work very hard just to receive good public opinion. Our lives become a chore and a burden as we try to live up to people’s expectations.
Thirdly, when we are defined by our titles, we can fall into the other extreme of indifference that comes about from our realization that we are not what we should be as the office and title demands of us. How often when people call us “Father” or “Your Excellency”, we feel unworthy, and like a Pharisee. We are not as “holy” as people think we are. So we would deny the title for ourselves. The consequence is that we go to the extreme of living in such a way that we forget the office and responsibilities that we are holding on behalf of those whom we are serving.
How, then, do we live our lives in such a way that we do not allow our titles and offices to make us egoistic, or burden us, or make us feel like hypocrites, pretending to be what we are not? The answer is clear. We must act not from our titles but from our identity. Our identity should define us, not our titles. In fact, we should define our titles and our office instead. Doing always flows from being. Any doing that does not flow from being is the cause of our feeling like a fraud because of the dichotomy between who we are and what we do. So, recovering our identity is the first and fundamental step in reconciling the titles and offices bestowed on us.
What then is our identity? We are children of God. This is the most important reality. This explains why Jesus insisted that there is only one Father who is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one teacher who is Christ Himself. Accordingly, “you have only one master, and you are all brothers.” So we must be conscious that we are all equal in dignity because of our shared humanity and common brotherhood in the Lord.
Secondly, we must be conscious that we are only servants of Christ. “The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus considered Himself as a servant. He was always conscious of His servanthood. This is expressed by the evangelist when Jesus was baptized at the river Jordan and the Father spoke, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17) which is but a different rendition from the Servant Song of Isaiah when the Lord said, “This is my servant in whom I delight.” (Isa 42:1) It is therefore not surprising that St Paul described Jesus as a servant in his letter to the Philippians. “Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.” (Phil 2:6f)
Thirdly, we are mouthpieces of God. We are like John the Baptist. When we do well, we have nothing to boast but the glory of God working in and through us. We are not the Word of God but only a voice for the Lord. So we should give glory and honour to God and not to ourselves. The call to humility is nothing else but a clear recognition of who we are before God, neither more or less. It does not mean that we need to degrade ourselves. Being humble is simply to be ourselves, who we are as the children of God, His servants.
Because we are His servants, we need to be identified with Him more and more. We can then appreciate our titles and offices. They are vehicles by which we serve the Lord more effectively and legitimately. The titles and offices are useless in themselves, unless they are used for the service of God. When we are no longer in office, we can live without the titles. When a person is too attached to the titles and the offices, it shows that he does not know himself or find joy in his identity. His wellbeing comes from his office and work. He works hard simply to find acceptance and recognition, like the Pharisees and the scribes. But when we are servants, we know ourselves and our limitations. We can simply be who we are and strive to become what we are meant to be.
Hence, we need to listen to God and become more identified with Him. The offices are meant to help us to be identified with the Lord so that we can be His representative. Unlike the religious and political leaders of Israel who disobeyed God, we are called to listen to Him so that we can act on His behalf. Isaiah says, ‘If you are willing to obey, you shall eat the good things of the earth. But if you persist in rebellion, the sword shall eat you instead.” We must use our office for the service of all, not for ourselves. This is what the Lord asks of us, “Cease to do evil. Learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow.” In this way, the office and titles do not define us but help us to be conscious of what we are called to do on behalf of God as His servants serving each other as brothers and sisters. The Office is for a purpose and once the service is done, we can do away with the titles and the office.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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