Memorial of Pius X, pope
Our sensibilities from reading and hearing the gospel stories are conditioned to think of the Pharisees only as hypocrites and show offs. This conception, however, misses some of the force of Jesus’ critique of these folk. They were not such easy targets. On the whole, they were considered the most pious Jews of their day, admired for their adherence to the law and their dedication to God. Nevertheless, their conflicts with Jesus centered around their overly legalistic adherence to the law. These were different interpretations of the Jewish tradition.
From its earliest moments, what we now call Christianity was an offshoot of Judaism. Jesus was clearly Jewish and part of the Jewish theological arguments of His day. Many of these arguments among the chosen people were about how best to uphold their end of the covenant with God. We hear a celebration of God’s faithfulness to this covenant in today’s psalm, “The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land” (Ps 85: 10b). However, the Israelites were not always so faithful.
Usually in particularly trying times, God calls forth prophets to speak to His people on His behalf. When Babylon conquered Judah in 597BC, Ezekiel was among those taken captive. It was there, in Babylon, where he is called by God to prophesy. At the beginning of this past week we heard his prophesy of doom – that yet more destruction was to come to Jerusalem because of their faithlessness to the covenant. Yet, over the past few days we have heard a word of hope from Ezekiel – that God will save his people. Today, we hear of the glorious reconstruction of the Temple. The Temple we must remember existed to house the presence of God, so with its reconstruction, God speaks firmly to His people that He will continue to dwell among them. And they can sing again, despite their faithlessness, “The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.”
So what about the Pharisees? They appear to be stalwarts of the covenant since the Jewish people promised, on their end, to uphold the law. Yet, Jesus levels two charges against them: 1) They do not practice what they preach and 2) They are ostentatious in their religious practices. Like a new Ezekiel, Jesus comes to tell them of their shortcomings. Yet, there is more to Jesus than there was to Ezekiel. The latter’s message was: God restores His people to Jerusalem; He dwells among them. In Jesus, God dwells among His people in a more intimate way – becoming “like us in all things but sin.” Jesus doesn’t just deliver God’s word, He is God’s Word, made flesh. So, to follow Him is to follow God. In Jesus there is a destruction (crucifixion) of the dwelling place of God – His very body – but there is also restoration (resurrection) of this “temple” which opens us up to the possibility of eternal life! This is the covenant made new in Jesus, sealed in His blood. In this covenant, we can all become temples of Christ’s Holy Spirit and indeed, “the glory of the Lord will dwell in our Land,” in our very selves!
- Tim Gabrielli