Week 51 of the Church year
സ്ലീബാ പെരുന്നാളിനു ശേഷം അഞ്ചാം ഞായർ
Jesus warns the crowds about religious leaders who say the right things and do not do them, who love titles and the best seats. The greatest among you, he says, will be the servant.
Jesus tells the crowds and his disciples to do what the scribes and Pharisees teach, but not to copy what they do. They tie heavy burdens on others, do their deeds to be seen, and love titles and places of honour. The greatest among you will be your servant.
Near the end of the Church year, the readings turn to how leaders and believers should live. The morning Gospel is about the greatest commandment.
Titles are given by people. Greatness, in Jesus’ kingdom, is measured by service.
ഈ ഞായറാഴ്ചയുടെ വായനകൾ
He is not the God of the dead but of the living.
The greatest commandment: love God, and love your neighbour as yourself.
The grain offering of fine flour with oil and frankincense.
God is our refuge and strength; be still, and know that I am God.
Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles.
The crowd turns on Paul, and he claims his rights as a Roman citizen.
Tell the rich not to be proud, but to be rich in good works.
Do what they teach, not what they do; the greatest among you will be your servant. This is the Gospel of the day.
Open in five scenesLeviticus describes the grain offering, a simple gift of flour and oil. The psalm says God is our refuge and strength, and Isaiah says those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. Paul charges Timothy to keep the faith without stain.
References follow the official lectionary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Your parish may read them in a different order.
Pick a scene to see what happens in it and what is easy to miss.
The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. So do what they tell you, but do not do what they do, because they do not practise what they teach.
Jesus respects their teaching office. His complaint is about the gap between words and life.
They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but will not lift a finger to move them.
Compare Jesus: “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).
They do everything to be seen: wide prayer boxes, long tassels, the best seats at feasts and in synagogues, greetings in the market, being called rabbi.
None of these things is wrong in itself. The problem is the reason: “to be seen by people”.
Do not be called rabbi, for you have one teacher and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father, for you have one Father in heaven. Do not be called instructors; you have one instructor, the Christ.
Paul still calls himself a father to his converts (1 Corinthians 4:15). Jesus is warning against titles that take God’s place, not banning words.
The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Jesus said the same about himself: the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28).
The verse to keep
“നിങ്ങളിൽ ഏറ്റവും വലിയവൻ നിങ്ങളുടെ ശുശ്രൂഷക്കാരൻ ആകേണം.”“But he who is greatest among you will be your servant.”
The scribes and Phariseesശാസ്ത്രിമാരും പരീശന്മാരും
Teachers of the law with real authority, criticised for not living it.
“—”
പറയുന്നതു ചെയ്യുക
This Gospel is uncomfortable for anyone with any kind of authority: priests, parents, teachers, committee members, older siblings. Jesus does not say the Pharisees taught the wrong things. He says they did not live them, and they liked being honoured more than serving.
It is easy to point at others while reading this. Jesus means us to look at ourselves. Do we ask more of our children than we ask of ourselves? Do we enjoy titles and front seats? Do we lay burdens on people and then walk away?
The answer Jesus gives is simple and hard. The greatest is the servant. He showed what that means when he washed his disciples’ feet and went to the cross. In a family or a parish, the person who most resembles Christ is not the one with the title. It is the one who serves without being seen.
കുടുംബമായി സംസാരിക്കാം
Is there something we ask of others at home that we do not do ourselves?
Two minutes after the audio. Everyone gets a turn, and nobody is interrupted.Parents and older siblings: do one task you usually ask the younger ones to do, without comment.
Lord Jesus, you came not to be served but to serve. Make our words and our lives match, free us from love of honour, and make us servants of one another. Amen.
The whole year
Every Sunday of the Church year, season by season: readings, the Gospel and a question for the family.
Sunday 5 of 6 in Sleeba