remind us of two virtues that are at the core of Christian life:
justice and humility. The first reading invites us to promote justice
and become ourselves instruments of uprightness in the society. “Make
justice your aim”; these words are powerful. They just mean: watching justice being trampled on and doing nothing means
Some Christians, at many times in the past and even
today, have managed to find other aspects of their Christian life to
hide in, in order to avoid the responsibility to uphold and speak out
for justice in the world. It might happen that some even try to argue
that justice is a secondary aspect of our Christian life. However, it
is a core aspect of the Christian life and a commandment for all of
us as Christians; not only for Mother Teresa of Kolkata or Bartolommeo de Las Casas.
To this aspect is
linked another one very important: humility. In today’s gospel,
Jesus makes it clear that the religious leaders, who did not care
about justice, had grown at the same time proud and wicked. They had
become unjust and arrogant. Their arrogance made them despise the
poor and all the others they were supposed to care for.
One would be unfair
towards the Scribes and the Pharisees if one had to assume that they
were the ones to impose their status to the people. We are very much
aware that, just it is in our times, religious leaders get a special
treatment by those faithful to their religion. Thus, Jesus words
could be understood at the same time as a criticism and a warning.
The system favouring that attitude, it had become a trap for
religious leaders of Jesus' time.
Lent is a good time
to call back Christians to justice and humility. It is even a better
time to encourage religious authorities to be humble as their sole
master, Jesus Christ, was humble and gave the good example by
speaking out for justice. Let us pray that this Lenten season becomes
an opportunity for all believers to shape their lives to Christ's,
the humble, meek and just Lord.