Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 18, 2025
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.”
“All their works are performed to be seen.” This particular line stands out as I read and reflect on today’s gospel. Jesus tells the people to listen to these leaders but not to follow their example, calling into question the consistency between their words and actions. Instead, we’re called to do good for the sake of doing good. Not for show, honor, or recognition, but because we are doing God’s will.
All of this reminds me of a lesson I learned in middle school. I started working at a gym when I was 12—cleaning locker rooms and bathrooms, stocking the snack bar, taking out the trash, etc. My boss, Joe Mackey, quickly became like an adopted grandfather and mentor to me.
One of the things he taught me early (and often reminded me) was that it’s what you do when no one is watching that says something about who you are. I took this to heart and made sure that I gave these seemingly menial tasks everything I had. Rarely was anyone checking on my work, but I wanted to be sure to always make it my best. Not for show or praise, but because it was the right thing to do.
This was undoubtedly a valuable lesson for a teenager who was responsible for a lot of the grunt work, but it’s something that has stuck with me in every stage of my life since.
Doing what is right because it is right. Doing good because we are made good, and God calls us to do so. It is not for show or acclaim; often, no one notices immediately. But over a lifetime? Everyone feels the difference that love and intention bring to every moment.
Prayer
Jesus, you taught the crowd and your disciples that whoever was to be the greatest among them would be their servant. May all leaders be inspired by your example of humility, seeking not to exalt themselves at the expense of others, but rather to serve and support those under their care. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Cyril of Jerusalem is a revered figure in the Palestinian Christian community and is one of the thirty-seven Doctors of the Church.
Cyril was born around the year 313 AD, the same year in which Christianity was declared legal in the Roman Empire when Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan. According to Butler's Lives of the Saints, Cyril was a well-educated young man, who grew up in or near the city of Jerusalem. He was educated in classical Greek philosophy and read Christian Scripture and the Church Fathers. Around 350 AD, Cyril became the bishop of Jerusalem. During the fourth century, Christian thinkers were wrestling with many different strands of thought, and discerning which were orthodox and which were heretical. These philosophical and theological debates caused tensions between the different Christian communities.
Cyril had a particularly fraught relationship with the bishop of Caesarea, the beautiful Mediterranean town to the north of Jerusalem, where Herod the Great had built his luxurious palace. The Bishop of Caesarea, Acacius, is characterized as an Arian bishop (meaning a bishop who subscribed to the belief that Jesus was not eternally begotten by the Father before time began), and Cyril was an orthodox Christian, which probably contributed to their strained relationship. Additionally, during the fourth century, Jerusalem, originally a smaller episcopal see, began rising in prominence, as Constantine and Helena discovered the true cross, the site of Golgotha, and the legality of Christianity led to increased building of shrines, churches, and floods of pilgrims coming from all over the empire to this small section of the Mediterranean coastline.
Acacius accused Cyril of selling Church valuables—vestments and imperial gifts—without permission. During the 350s, there was a famine in Jerusalem, and Cyril is supposed to have sold Church treasures to buy food for his people. Acacius had Cyril deposed in 357 by a council of bishops sympathetic to Acacius. In 359, Cyril was restored to his see—only to suffer a continual stream of exiles and returns as various emperors ascended and descended from the throne.
Perhaps, as a result of finding himself at the mercy of powers outside of himself, Cyril's writings focus on the loving and forgiving nature of our merciful God. The Holy Spirit, writes Cyril, "comes with the tenderness of a true friend to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, and to console." His writing was used to instruct those preparing for Baptism in the Christian faith. Cyril's Catechetical Lectures still inspire and encourage Christians to this day:
As Christ after His Baptism, and the visitation of the Holy Ghost, went forth and vanquished the adversary, so likewise ye, after Holy Baptism and the Mystical Chrism, having put on the whole armor of the Holy Ghost, are to stand against the power of the adversary, and vanquish it, saying, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).
Finally, in 378, Cyril returned to his beloved hometown and remained there until his death in 386AD. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, an early witness to the sacred sites of Christian devotion—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Cyril of Jerusalem is in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
