Chain of Faith

Seeing how the seven woes applies to us

08/26/2019

Matthew 23:13-22 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.' Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.' You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it."

The gospel of Matthew 23 shows a very different side of Jesus than the meek and mild Messiah we usually think of. Our Lord is lambasting the scribes and Pharisees with his most stinging criticisms, commonly called “the seven woes.” On first reading, we may be tempted to think, well that was some tough love but the Pharisees had it coming for being such holy hypocrites. If we stopped there, we would miss our Lord’s larger point, which is directed at all religious leaders. Hence, the gospel began: “The Lord said to the crowds and his disciples…”

And by the way who are the religious leaders? It is just the scribes and Pharisees? No. Is it only the apostles and disciples? No. Is it limited to Fr. John and Surennah Werley, the Director of Faith Formation? No. It is all of us: every person who has ever had a child – either naturally by birth or supernaturally by baptism – is a religious leader. I would suggest to you that each generation is the “religious leader” – in the broadest possible sense of the term – of the generation that follows it. Pope St. Paul VI wrote in 1965: “Since parents have given their children life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators” (Gravissimum educationis, 3). Of course, the pope refers mainly to education in the Christian faith, not social studies or computer science. In other words, Jesus’ seven woes are best interpreted as intended for all of us of each generation who are the primary and principal educators of the next generation.

Let me share a very dramatic instance of how these seven woes can apply to modern times. It’s a story John Maxwell relates, paraphrasing R.C. Sproul’s book Objections Answered. Maxwell states: “A young Jewish boy grew up in Germany many years ago. The lad had a profound sense of admiration for his father, who saw to it that the life of the family revolved around the religious practices of their faith. The father led them to synagogue faithfully. In his teen years, however, the boy’s family was forced to move to another town in Germany. This town had no synagogue, only one Lutheran church. The life of the community revolved around the Lutheran church; all the best people belonged to it. Suddenly, the father announced to the family that they were all going to abandon their Jewish traditions and join the Lutheran church. When the stunned family asked why, the father explained that it would be good for his business. The youngster was bewildered and confused. His deep disappointment soon gave way to anger and a kind of intense bitterness that plagued him throughout his life.

“Later he left Germany and went to England to study. Each day found him at the British Museum, formulating his ideas and composing a book. In that book he introduced a whole new worldview and conceived a movement that was designed to change the world. He described religion as ‘opiate for the masses.’ He committed the people who followed him to a life without God. His ideas became the norm for the government for almost half the world’s people. His name? Karl Marx, founder of the Communist movement. The history of the twentieth century, and perhaps beyond, was significantly affected because one father let his values become distorted” (Developing the Leader Within You, 40).

Now let me add a small caveat or qualification. Does this mean that every dead-beat dad and every misguided mom will inevitably raise terrible children? Not necessarily. Some great saints came from very dysfunctional families. On the other hand, does this mean every saintly father and self-sacrificing mother will always rear impeccable children? Not necessarily. Each person, including our own children, are free to be saints or sinners, and that usually depends on what day of the week it is: Friday evening or Sunday morning.

Nevertheless, we must still pass on the faith we have received from our parents as well as we can to our children. Let us not be the weak link in that great chain of faith stretching from one generation to the next, like poor Karl Marx’s father. When we are such a weak link, we can expect one of the seven woes.

Praised be Jesus Christ!