Matthew 23:1-12
November 3, 2002
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
At the dinner table of a typical Asian home, the host would sit in the chair at the end of the table facing the front door. It was the seat of honor as each dish of food is presented for approval before eating and where the host can see all the family members and engage in the day’s conversations. This best seat was also a symbol of service too. When unexpected guests arrive, the host would be the first one to welcome them to the dinner table.
The best seats at a World Series game would be just behind the first base line. The best seats at a three-ring circus are somewhere near the second ring. The best seats at a Broadway play are four or five rows from the stage with the orchestra pit separating you from the actors. The best seats at the US Tennis Open are any two seats when you are there with your son. The best seats at FCBC are all these along the perimeter of the sanctuary where your eyes are leveled with mine.
Moses’ Seat
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus said, “The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it.” Jesus has no problem with the scribes and Pharisees since he respects the teaching and administrative authority of the synagogue leadership. Their authority came from their ability to rightfully interpret the law of Moses.
Moses’ seat was a seat of power, much like the seats of power that we know exist today—in city halls, in state capitals, in Washington, DC, on Wall Street, and even in religious centers such as Vatican City. Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to bother Jesus that a particular seat of power exists. But what makes Jesus furious is that powerful people are blatant hypocrites!
“Do not do what they do,” Jesus thunders, “for they do not practice what they teach.” “Ouch!” That must have hurt!
Jesus accuses the Pharisees of “saying but doing not.” He accuses them of dressing for show. He accuses them of wearing broad phylacteries and long fringes. He accuses them of putting too heavy a burden on people. He accuses them of wanting their name sounded in the marketplace, “Rabbi, rabbi.” And he accuses them of liking the best seats, probably getting the best food and eating more of it than the people whom they serve could ever get.
Heavy Burdens
From where the Pharisees sat, Jesus saw these privileged people burdening the people. They tie up heavy burdens that were too hard to bear and lay them on the shoulders of the people. While they created such heavy burdens, the Pharisees sitting in their best seats were unwilling to lift a finger to remove them.
When the Pharisees taught the people as a whole to live as a priestly nation, they apply burdensome purity laws on them. One of these laws was hand washing before eating. Now I have nothing against washing your hands before dinner. But Jesus considers such purity laws to be human traditions, much less important than the commandments of God. In Matthew 15 10-11, Jesus said, “Listen and understand, it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
Much more serious than eating with unwashed hands, according to Jesus, are the sins of evil intentions: murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and slander. And in a direct attack on the Pharisees and the scribes, Jesus accuses them of breaking a clear commandment of God when they gave support to the temple instead of their aging parents. It is far more important to obey the commandment to honor your father and mother, he says, than to follow the tradition of giving alms to the temple (15:3-6).
Election Day
On Tuesday, many of us will be going to the voting booths to send or return people in secular seats of power. And according to recent polls, most of us are unhappy with either of the gubernatorial candidate to take the seat in Sacramento. In fact, widespread dissatisfaction may lead to near record low voter turnout.
As a staunch Baptists, I’m not here this morning to tell you how to vote. That decision is solely up to you. But based on the message of this Scripture, I am telling you that those in privileged powerful positions must serve the interests of those who are burdened and powerless. At the very least, those sitting in seats of power whether they are sitting in Sacramento or in corporate offices or in Washington, D.C., must never do anything to increase the burden of the already burdened.
As American Baptists, we are naturally going to have a wide variety of opinions on a broad spectrum of political issues, but we simply cannot be divided on the issue of social justice. Jesus makes it clear that it is wrong to side with privileged persons, those who “tie heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others.”
It’s wrong to side with those “who do all their deeds to be seen by others.” It’s wrong to side with those who “love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplace.”
When it comes to justice, we Christians cannot be on the side of the privileged, nor can we say we are neutral on the issue. Desmond Tutu, the bishop of South Africa once said, “When the elephant has his foot on the tail of the mouse, and you say you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Those who are heavy burdened in the world would not appreciate our neutrality. In every place and in every time, we who are Christ’s disciples are called to do what we can to relieve the burdens of people around us.
We live in San Francisco or in the larger Bay Area with people who are hungry, naked, and homeless. The Scriptures clearly call us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and to shelter the homeless. That kind of action is very basic and very biblical. We can do these things.
But we also have to remember that the answer to homelessness in San Francisco is homes, not shelters. What the poor and the burdened people need is not charity, but justice. When we take a stand with the burdened of this world, we are challenged not only to alleviate the effects of injustice—hunger, nakedness, and homelessness—but we are challenged to eradicate the root causes of it.
Too often we are like those who became SF Giants fans only after they got into the World Series. We didn’t know their colors were black and orange. We didn’t care to know the names on the 25- player roster. But when they got into the World Series, we all became Giants fans—even a die-hard Red Sox fan like me.
It’s like this when it comes to our response to social justice. We are ready and willing to bring in canned goods when Cameron House collects food for Thanksgiving. We are ready to drop in our spared change in the Salvation Army Christmas collection pots. We are more than happy to clean out our closets of last year’s fashions to clothe the naked to make room for all of the new clothes we’ll get on Christmas morning. But wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t have the hungry, the naked, and the homeless in the first place?
Jesus wants us to focus on justice, not charity. He challenges us to obey his teachings that call for privileged powerful people to lift not just a finger but both their hands, their whole body, and all that they have to relieve the burdened people. Jesus commands us to look out for those who are burdened around us, and do whatever we can to assist them.
Broad Phylacteries and Long Fringes
Before we bring this message to the end, I must say something about phylacteries and fringes. Jesus was saying to the Pharisees that a part of their hypocrisy was wearing their broad phylacteries and long fringes.
Phylacteries were small leather boxes worn by men during prayers. The boxes contained verses from Exodus and Deuteronomy. During the Babylonian exile, Israelites attached phylacteries to remind themselves that Yahweh was the one for their primary allegiance. The tassels or fringes on the prayer shawl were likewise an example of devotion.
Not only did these Pharisees had phylacteries and fringes, theirs were big and long. This “showing-off” of their piety was exposed by Jesus as “not practicing what they teach.”
I may not have a phylactery but now I have a new Bible with large print. I have a long robe and some fringes on this stole. The danger of wanting to sit in the best seats is tempting to all of us including pastors. I like it when you let me get to the head of the line because I am a minister!
The antidote to this hypocrisy and self-promotion is to follow Christ. No one, save God, is above anyone else. This is when true democracy is preached. Jesus puts people first before leaders. He preaches real democracy compared to the shallow democracy that is practiced in our world. It is so easy to slip from putting the people first to putting yourself first. We see some genuinely committed public officials turn from being interested in helping the cause of the folks that inspired them to run, to just getting elected the next time. Callous to the many millions spent on campaign commercials or nasty and half-true messages, these candidates are putting themselves ahead of the people.
When we follow Christ, we find that the greatest among us is the servant to us. We don’t see them at the head tables. Instead, they give up their best seats for others. They know that when they humble themselves, they will indeed be exalted. The antidote for hypocrisy in our political leaders as well as for ourselves is servanthood. A true leader is truly the servant. I hope and pray that these long fringes will never get in the way of my servanthood to Jesus Christ.
Tuesday
On this coming election day, and in all the days to come, our challenge is to act in ways that keeps us from further damaging the burdened people in our world. Let us use our votes to get to the root causes of the hungry, the naked, and the homeless. Let us use our votes to lift the heavy burdens that have been placed on the shoulders of those in need. Let us use our votes to challenge all those who like to take the best seats and do not practice what they said.
And let us live our lives in ways that truly serve other people, for we remember that Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Let us pray.
Almighty God, challenge us to do our part to alleviate the burdens from the backs of your children by becoming actively involve in our communities and in the world. Teach us to be a humble servant in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.