Daily Gospel
READING OF THE DAY
A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel
EZ 43:1-7AB
The angel led me to the gate which faces the east,
and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel
coming from the east.
I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters,
and the earth shone with his glory.
The vision was like that which I had seen
when he came to destroy the city,
and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar.
I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple
by way of the gate which faces the east,
but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court.
And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.
Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple,
while the man stood beside me.
The voice said to me:
Son of man, this is where my throne shall be,
this is where I will set the soles of my feet;
here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew
MT 23:1-12
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.”
Saturday of 20th Week in Ordinary Time
(Mt 23:1-12)
The Word of God for Us
Dear People of God,
God’s Word in today’s Gospel, God teaches everyone how to do what we have heard the scribes and Pharisees say, but do not look at or imitate their actions or deeds.
Here, God wants to emphasize the bad actions and deeds. Because in this world, no one is perfect before God. In this world, there is only one who is perfect and that is God Himself. Therefore, God wants to teach His Children: Stay away from bad things and do the best deeds.
God is the One who thoroughly looks into the heart of every person. God saw that the deeds of the scribes and Pharisees were not good, so He instructed His children to live and practice according to their teachings, but not to follow their actions or deeds.
Today, in this new Era, God wants each of us to live and practice God’s commandments taught through His prophets and shepherds. For only the Word of God is perfect, and only God is the only powerful Teacher and Father. He does not want His children to fall into the temptations and traps of Satan when people only look at the bad actions of others, they can fall in to their traps because of losing their guard.
Therefore, today’s Word of God invites everyone to revere and worship God alone as our Father and only Teacher, do not put our whole being on any mortal man. In fact, the Word of God says: “Do not call anyone on earth your father or teacher.” Because human nature is weak, sinful, and limited. The only and best thing God wants to teach people is to live and practice according to God’s words in the Gospel. It is the Word of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God who came to earth to redeem mankind from sin and death. Let’s live and practice according to the Word of God commanded, so that people will always please Him, and we will enjoy the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven with God, our beloved Father in the future.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
