The greatest among you must be your servant

25 AUGUST (Mt 23,1-12)

The false shepherds and prophets have always been a disaster for the people of the Lord. A community in which the fullness of truth of the Word of God does not resonate, is condemned to the loss of all identity, essence, nature and mission. The false proclamation of the Word of God is the cause of every, moral, social, and spiritual disaster of a nation. Here is a severe reminder of God against false prophets and shepherds at the time of Jeremiah.

Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the Lord.

Concerning the prophets: My heart within me is broken, my bones all tremble; I am like a man who is drunk, overcome by wine, Because of the Lord, because of his holy words. With adulterers the land is filled; on their account the land mourns, the pasture ranges are seared. Theirs is an evil course, theirs is unjust power. Both prophet and priest are godless! In my very house I find their wickedness, says the Lord. Hence their way shall become for them slippery ground. In the darkness they shall lose their footing, and fall headlong; Evil I will bring upon them: the year of their punishment, says the Lord. Therefore I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words from each other. Yes, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who borrow speeches to pronounce oracles. Yes, I am against the prophets who prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and who lead my people astray by recounting their lies and by their empty boasting. From me they have no mission or command, and they do this people no good at all, says the Lord.

And when this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the burden of the Lord?” you shall answer, “You are the burden, and I cast you off, says the Lord.” If a prophet or a priest or anyone else mentions “the burden of the Lord,” I will punish that man and his house. Thus you shall ask, when speaking to one another, “What answer did the Lord give?” or, “What did the Lord say?” But the burden of the Lord you shall mention no more. For each man his own word becomes the burden so that you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. Thus shall you ask the prophet, “What answer did the Lord give?” or, “What did the Lord say?” But if you ask about “the burden of the Lord,” then thus says the Lord: Because you use this phrase, “the burden of the Lord,” though I forbade you to use it, therefore I will lift you on high and cast you from my presence, you and the city which I gave to you and your fathers. And I will bring upon you eternal reproach, eternal, unforgettable shame». (Cf. Jer 23,1-40)..

Jesus wants falseness not to reign in his Church. How to avoid this from happening? Each one becoming the last and servant of all, in a perpetual obedience to God, under the guidance of a conscience that seeks only the Lord and his divine will.

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

One protects himself from false prophecy, false science, teaching, learning, by looking at man as a man, and never as a god, lord; always as a servant, never as a master.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels, and Saints make us servants of all for love.