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From: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

Religion Without Soul

[10] Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!

Call to Conversion

[16] Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
[17] learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
defend the fatherless,
plead for the widow.

The People Must Decide—Obedience or Rebellion

[18] “Come now, let us reason together,
says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
[19] If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
[20] But if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

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Commentary:

1:10-20. These verses, too, in some ways form a literary unit in line with the
“lawsuit” (”rib”) style often found in prophetical literature: the charge sheet (vv.
10-15) is set against a list of good works, given here in the form of an exhortation
(vv. 16-17), and then comes to the sentence at the end, seen here in the attitude
of the judge, who is God (vv. 18-20).

Harsh words (v. 10) are used: the people of Judah are identified with those of So-
dom and Gomorrah, the epitome of sin and rejection of God. The transgressions
of which they are accused are against acts of worship (vv. 11-15), listed one af-
ter the other — sacrifices, incense offerings, festivals, entreaties. The accusation
is not against acts of worship in themselves, for these are laid down in the book
of Leviticus and therefore are right and proper. What the prophet is inveighing a-
gainst is religious formalism and the dichotomy between performance and inten-
tion, as can be seen from the verses that follow. What God desires is sincerity
of heart, virtue, protection for the weak — in other words, proper treatment of
others. In laying down the law here, the Lord shows his readiness to forgive,
while still holding out the threat of punishment (vv. 18-20).

Some passages of the section are read in the Liturgy during Lent (Tuesday of
the Second Week) to help people check whether they have given God the wor-
ship due to him, and as a call to a sincere change of heart. Christian writers
have used this passage from Isaiah (and other texts from the Scriptures) to ex-
plain that true religion and compassion begin in a person’s heart and then ex-
press themselves in actions. For example, one of the apostolic Fathers writes:
“Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the ministers of God’s grace will speak of penance.
And the Lord of all things himself spoke of penance, and swore an oath: I do not
desire the death of the wicked man, but that he should change his ways; and he
adds: “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; [...] though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be-
come like wool.” The Lord desires that all whom he loves would repent, and he
affirms it by his all-powerful will. Let us be obedient, then, to his glorious plan,
and, by imploring his mercy and kindness, let us return to his goodness and
be converted, leaving aside all our vain works, the disputes and jealousies that
lead to death” (St Clement of Rome, “Ad Corinthios”, 8, 1-9, 1).

1-17. “Learn to do good”: in order to lead the sort of lives that God wants, we
need to be properly schooled. St Basil comments: “Since moral understanding
is neither self-evident nor clear to all, we must learn to do good deeds through
our study of sound doctrine” (”Enarratio in Isaiam”, 1, 40). As well as calling for
sound doctrine, holiness of life requires the practice of virtue, day after day, con-
sistently, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. The “human virtues are
[...] the foundation for the supernatural ones. These in turn provide us with con-
stant encouragement to behave in a noble way. But it is not sufficient merely to
want to have these virtues: we must learn how to practise them. “Discite bene-
facere” (Is 1:17), learn to do good. We need to make a habit of exercising each
virtue, by actually being sincere, truthful, balanced, calm, and patient — for love
is proved by deeds and we cannot love God only by word, but ‘with deeds and in
truth’ (1 Jn 3:18)” (St. Josemaria Escriva, “Friends of God”, 91).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 23:1-12

Vices of the Scribes and Pharisees

[1] Then said Jesus to the crowds and to His disciples, [2] “The scribes and the
Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; [3] so practice and observe whatever they tell you,
but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. [4] They bind heavy
burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves
will not move them with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by
men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they
love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, [7] and
salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. [8] But you are
not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. [9] And
call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in Heaven. [10]
Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. [11] He who is
greatest among you shall be your servant; [12] whoever exalts himself will be
humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Commentary:

1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and Phari-
sees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels towards the ordi-
nary mass of the people, who have been ill-used, “harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). His address may be divided into three
parts: in the first (verses 1-12) He identifies their principal vices and corrupt practi-
ces; in the second (verses 13-36) He confronts them and speaks His famous
“woes”, which in effect are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached in Chapter
5: no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven—no one can escape condemnation
to the flames — unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the third part (ver-
ses 37-39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the evils into which the
blind pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and Pharisees have misled the
people.

2-3. Moses passed on to the people the Law received from God. The scribes,
who for the most part sided with the Pharisees, had the function of educating the
people in the Law of Moses; that is why they were said to “sit on Moses’ seat”.
Our Lord recognized that the scribes and Pharisees did have authority to teach
the Law; but He warns the people and His disciples to be sure to distinguish the
Law as read out and taught in the synagogues from the practical interpretations
of the Law to be seen in their leaders’ lifestyles. Some years later, St. Paul — a
Pharisee like his father before him — faced his former colleagues with exactly the
same kind of accusations as Jesus makes here: “You then who teach others,
will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You
who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor
God by breaking the law? For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles because of you’” (Romans 2:21-24).

5. “Phylacteries”: belts or bands carrying quotations from sacred Scripture which
the Jews used to wear fastened to their arms or foreheads. To mark themselves
out as more religiously observant than others, the Pharisees used to wear broa-
der phylacteries. The fringes were light-blue stripes on the hems of cloaks; the
Pharisees ostentatiously wore broader fringes.

8-10. Jesus comes to teach the truth; in fact, He is the Truth (John 14:6). As a
teacher, therefore, He is absolutely unique and unparalleled. “The whole of Christ’s
life was a continual teaching: His silences, His miracles, His gestures, His prayer,
His love for people, His special affection for the little and the poor, His acceptance
of the total sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of the world, and His resurrec-
tion are the actualization of His word and the fulfillment of revelation. Hence for
Christians the crucifix is one of the most sublime and popular images of Christ
the Teacher.

“These considerations are in line with the great traditions of the Church and they
all strengthen our fervor with regard to Christ, the Teacher who reveals God to man
and man to himself, the Teacher who saves, sanctifies and guides, who lives, who
speaks, rouses, moves, redresses, judges, forgives, and goes with us day by day
on the path of history, the Teacher who comes and will come in glory” (Bl. John
Paul II, “Catechesi Tradendae”, 9).

11. The Pharisees were greedy for honor and recognition: our Lord insists that
every form of authority, particularly in the context of religion, should be exercised
as a form of service to others; it must not be used to indulge personal vanity or
greed. “He who is the greatest among you shall be your servant”.

12. A spirit of pride and ambition is incompatible with being a disciple of Christ.
Here our Lord stresses the need for true humility, for anyone who is to follow Him.
The verbs “will be humbled”, “will be exalted” have “God” as their active agent.
Along the same lines, St. James preaches that “God opposes the proud, but
gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). And in the “Magnificat”, the Blessed Vir-
gin explains that the Lord “has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exal-
ted those of low degree [the humble]” (Luke 1:52).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.