GOSPEL OF MATTHEW CHAPTERS 23-24

SCRIPTURE Matthew 23:1-6

Woe to scribes and Pharisees 

 Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice…. All their works are performed to be seen. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’….

 The greatest among you must be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven^* before human beings…..

 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

WOE TO YOU SCRIBES AND PHARISEES

REFLECTION

Woe to Scribes and Pharisees….this warning from Jesus is to us if we behave as they do…do we bear witness to the truth in words and deeds or do we say one thing  to our children like go to Mass and then we go golfing…or tell our children what to watch and we are watching and reading pornography. Be careful, children are watching!

All their works are performed to be seen.  Do we go to Church every Sunday, lector, give our communion, usher etc then the other six days of the week act like pagans by gossiping uncharitably  about our neighbor and act abusive to family members…

The greatest among you must be your servant….Jesus washed the dirty feet of His apostles at the Last Supper…Jesus showed us the Way…Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life…We are here to serve others…love is service….God is love and those who love are acting in His very image

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.  I have nothing to exhalt myself about…all I own are my sins…God is good…I am not…humbly ask for mercy and forgiveness then God will restore us and exhalt us by taking us into His kingdom

You are like whitewashed toms which appear beautiful on the outside but inside full of dead men  bones….how are we doing….are we clean and beautiful inside, if not why not…what will we do about it….how about that little whisper from the Spirit otherwise known as a conscience…have we shut it down with noise and distractions…if so let’s get rid of that pollution and clean up our act.. Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” Mark 4:9

 SCRIPTURE Matthew 23:37

The Lament over Jerusalem

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned, desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

JESUS LAMENTS OVER JERUSALEM

REFLECTION

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you…In the parable of the rich man in Hades, he begs Father Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers that they may not end up in torment Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them…. Luke 16:27 Jesus tells his people all the chances they have had to embrace God instead of false idols….How many more warnings do we get… Choose God…Choose Life!

how many times I yearned to gather you children as a hen gathers her young under her wings…Jesus wants to hold us close, let Him…separation from Jesus is a disaster…have you ever separated yourself from Jesus for a long period of time….how did that work out for you…

Jesus weeps over His chosen people…”t was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…John 15:16 …..it is not us that initiate contact with God but God who initiates contact with us through the Spirit….pray for the Spirit of the Lord to come and dwell in you…that you may be saved

SCRIPTURE Matthew 24:3-28

 The Beginning of calamities, the great tribulation.

As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives,^* the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?” Jesus said to them in reply, “See that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars^* and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end. 

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place.  All these are the beginning of the labor pains. Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.  And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved….

If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.  False messiahs and false prophets will arise… I have told it to you beforehand. So if they say to you, ‘He is in the desert,’ do not go out there; if they say, ‘He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.^*  For just as lightning comes from the east and extends to the west so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The Unknown Day and Hour.

 …that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^* but the Father alone. For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.

Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come…if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.  So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not  expect, the Son of Man will come.

THEREFORE STAY AWAKE  FOR YOU DO NOT KNOW WHEN THE LORD WILL COME

REFLECTION

In this discourse with his disciples, Jesus is asked about end times…His reply could refer to  destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD or the end of the world and second coming of Jesus.

…there will be famines and earthquakes… they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. many will be led into sin;… many false prophets will arise and deceive many;

We certainly feel like we are in end times and maybe we are.  “But for that day and hour only God the Father knows.” Mark 13:32 And that is okay because we have been given the heads up to always be prepared.  Are we?  Are we prepared to meet our maker, today!

Our so called “prophets” today are celebrities, talk show hosts, athletes that  support the ways of the world….what is the cool thing to do….hang out…have sex with anyone you can hook up with…smoke weed…eat, drink, and be merry…no mention of God or authority outside ourselves.  If it feels good do it!

That takes me to Jesus’ parable of the rich fool…“I shall say to myself, as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong. Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.” Luke 12:19

No one takes a trailer of his possessions with him to the sweet bye and bye!  Keep your eyes on the Real Prize!  “For where your treasure is so also will your heart be” Matthew 6:21Our hearts are restless until they rest in God!  Embrace God! Choose Life!

 Because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold.  But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved

MATTHEW 24:12