In between last Sunday’s parable and today’s reading, much has happened in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus has made his mock triumphal entry into Jerusalem and has cleansed the temple; he has also taught and healed and engaged in the prophetic act of cursing the fig tree. The entire gospel drama is coming to a climax. The last days of Jesus’ life are under way and today a preliminary skirmish between Jesus and the Jewish authorities is now taking place in the temple.
While the setting for last week’s gospel and this one are different, the message is not – we continue to ask the question: What is just or fair? The prophet Ezekiel is saying exactly the same as Jesus by asking if what the Lord does is unjust.
In the Second Reading we have the magnificent hymn about Jesus’ own spirit of service and selflessness. In urging Christians to serve each other’s needs with the deepest respect, St Paul asks them to have the mind of Jesus himself, to think like he does. And he illustrates this by quoting what seems to have been an early Christian hymn.
It is not for us today to pass judgement on the religious and political leaders of Jesus’ own people. Rather, we have to see what this incident is saying to our own Christian lives here and now.
And so we pray:
“Lord Jesus, change my heart that I may only desire that which is pleasing to you.
Help me to respect your will and give me the strength, joy and perseverance to carry it out wholeheartedly.”