Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 15, 2022
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 Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Through 40 years in the business world, I saw many efforts aimed at organizational change.
Managers would hold a big meeting to roll out a new program. Lots of time and money were spent making sure everyone knew what to do. The year’s slogan would often come with SWAG like hats and coffee mugs. In other words, management would make sure program phylacteries were broad and the tassels long.
In my experience, most of these efforts failed because management did not internalize the professed change. Managers talked the talk with words the consultants told them to say. When push came to shove, they operated as they always had. They did not walk the walk.
In today’s gospel, Jesus instructs the crowds and his disciples not to mimic the Pharisees. Like the managers of failed programs, the Pharisees promoted God’s law but did not practice it in their hearts. They had broad phylacteries and long tassels but did not practice what they preached. Everything was for show.
Are we like the Pharisees in today’s gospel? We might pray the prayers outwardly, but do we walk the walk? We acknowledge our sinfulness at every Mass. We may beat our breast and say, “Mea culpa,” but have we internalized our penitence? Do we see sin in our lives? Or are we too proud to go to Confession and admit to God through the priest that we have sinned? Are we afraid God will not give us the grace and guidance we need?
Lord, grant us the humility to acknowledge our sins and seek reconciliation with you, most particularly in the Sacrament of Penance this Lenten season.
Prayer
Dear Lord, today, you talk about being with people who put on airs, who think themselves more important or more knowledgeable than they really are. Oh, how we want to puncture them with a few well-chosen words! Yet in reality they may be the most frightened and lonely people around. Help us to serve them, to ease or grow out of their fear instead of condemning them.
Saint of the Day
St. Longinus is known as the Roman centurion who stood at the foot of the cross at Jesus’ crucifixion and speared his side with a lance.
The Gospel of John tells of blood and water spilling from Jesus’ body. Matthew and Mark tell us that this soldier was converted when he witnessed Jesus’ death and the earthquake and mid-day darkness that followed, saying, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
In the Gospel accounts, this soldier is unnamed; it is likely that the name Longinus is simply derived from the word for “lance.” The Christian community told stories about the rest of this soldier’s life, but many of the tales are legends, and historically unverifiable. Some accounts have him leaving the life of a soldier and living as a monk. Some tell that he was martyred by Pilate for his confession of Jesus as the Son of God.
Relics of St. Longinus rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and he is depicted in stained glass in the Basilica in several places. In this window, he receives a vision of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Longinus is on the bottom right side of the window holding a lance, while kneeling with the great saints Francis, Augustine, and Ignatius.
St. Longinus is associated with the Sacred Heart of Jesus because more than any other character in Jesus’ passion, he had the closest physical experience of Jesus’ sacrificial death in love for us all. He became a believer when he pierced Jesus’ heart with his spear and witnessed water and blood flow from it.
Theologians associate the water and blood that flowed from Jesus’ side with the waters of baptism and the blood of Christ we receive in the Eucharist—sacraments that constitute us as a Church. Longinus, therefore, stands as a model for Christians. We, too, seek conversion by encountering the water and blood that flow from Christ—by renewing our baptismal promises and participating in the Eucharist.
St. Longinus, the centurion who was converted when you pierced Jesus’ Sacred Heart—pray for us!