Today’s gospel (Matthew 23:1-12) seems pretty clear in its intention: the burdens laid upon the people by the Pharisees and their scribes are not pleasing to the Lord. The burdens include the Pharisaic interpretations of the Law (You have heard it said….but I say to you) as well as the overly ritualized forms of temple/cultic worship. In many ways it is the same message Isaiah had for the people of his time, our first reading (Isaiah 1:10, 16-20).
The text from Isaiah is an oracle on true worship. This oracle begins with a mention of Sodom and Gomorrah, and is placed here because the same cities were mentioned in verse 9. Sodom and Gomorrah were the cities of the Plain, destroyed by fire from heaven because of their corruption (Gen 19). In verse 9 Isaiah notes the total way in which they were destroyed. In v.10 the Judean leaders and the people are addressed by analogy because they are equally corrupt: 10 Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah!
Isaiah is challenging them to return to true worship. God professes no pleasure in the constant sacrifice of animals or even with the observance of the new moon and sabbath, because “your hands are full of blood!” (1:15), not only because of the sacrifices but because of the violence of their lives. Isaiah is not opposed to ritual as such. He says they need a ritual of washing (v.16) to symbolize repentance and purification. Ritual, however, is only as good as the intentions it expresses. What matters is how people treat the widows and orphans, not how often they go to the temple or offer sacrifice. This has been a recurring theme in other prophets and the psalms as well. In a way this was one of the misunderstandings of the Book of Leviticus. It came to be understood that the sacrificial animal could become the sinner, and in the animal’s death the sinner died. No repentance, no change of behavior was necessary. What was necessary was that the procedure be followed exactly
Isaiah’s people do not stand alone in this admonishment.. Throughout the history of religion the trend has always been to maximize the physical while minimizing the spiritual. The physical aspects of religion are observable and, to some extent, measurable, whereas the spiritual aspects are very difficult to measure. How can you be sure you are being loving enough toward your neighbor? It is easier to count the number of times you have gone to church, and you can record the amount of money you have donated.
This was the kind of religion to which Isaiah and the other prophets objected. Of what use to God were sacrifices and festivals, sabbaths and blood, if they were not accompanied by the kind of devotion that manifested itself in lives lived according to his holiness? I wish the first reading included these verses:
“12 When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you? 13 Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me. New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies, octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear. 14 Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load.” (Isaiah 1:12-14)
Their sacrifices were not pleasing to God. He was not happy they had come into his courts; he wished they would leave. He did not find their endless worship services a pleasure; rather, they were a terrible burden. You can sense that this endless round of activities all repeated continuously wearies God. Isaiah opposes such rituals and sacrifices because they are in vain when there is no intention of repentance.
Isaiah then clearly constructs a contrast between cult and ethical behavior: “…Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; 17 learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow..” It gives a deeper understanding to the Gospel admonition: “The greatest among you must be your servant.”
We are a tradition that is rich in the patrimony of worship and ritual. We are a church with an amazing call to justice. May our worship lead us to be servants.
Image credit: Prophet Isaiah, Mosaic, Right of Lunette, South Wall of Presbytery, Basilica of San Vitale | PD-US | scripture image from Canva CC-0
10 Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! …16 Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil;17 learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.18 Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.19 If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land;20 But if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken! (Isaiah 1:10, 16-20)