Proper 26 (31) – Year A
23rd Sunday after pentecost: November 1, 2026
Gospel Lectionary Text
Matthew 23:1-12
23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
23:2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;
23:3 therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.
23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.
23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.
23:6 They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,
23:7 and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.
23:8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.
23:9 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father — the one in heaven.
23:10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.
23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
23:12 All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted."
Context
Welcome to the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost. This week’s Gospel begins with Jesus addressing the crowd. He tells them that the scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat and that they should listen to what they teach. Then, almost immediately, he warns them not to imitate the way they live.
The problem is not Moses. The problem is what happens when Moses’ seat becomes a place of burden rather than liberation.
Many of us know what a heavy-yoke faith feels like. We imagine God sitting high upon a marble throne, reviewing our record and finding us wanting. The crushing demands of perfection can be enough to make us hide, despair, or simply give up.
But what if Jesus is calling us back to an earlier Moses? Back before the commandments were carved in stone. Back before the endless calculations about who is in and who is out. Back to Moses the storyteller, who spoke of a God breathing life into dust and delighting in creation. Back to Moses who stood barefoot before a burning bush and heard his name called in love. Only after Moses encountered God's mercy did he receive God's law. The story came before the commandments.
Throughout Matthew's Gospel, Jesus interprets the law through mercy. He reminds us that the purpose of God's commands is not to crush human beings but to help us become fully alive. The law was given for human flourishing, not humiliation.
Perhaps that is why Jesus ends this passage by speaking of humility and service. The goal is not perfect performance. The goal is to become the kind of people who know they bear God's image and help others remember that they do too.
Question
This week Jesus distinguishes between Moses' seat and the way the scribes and Pharisees occupy it. Where have you experienced faith as a burden, and what might it look like to rediscover the story of mercy that gave birth to it?
Reflections
The Shoulders of the People
By Jenna Smith |
They do not practice what they teach.They are unwilling to lift a finger.They love the seat of honour. Jesus’ criticism of his community’s religious leaders is, as usual, raw, unrestrained and unfiltered. What stands out in this particular passage is his opening criticism: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on…
Re-formation
By Joel Van Dyke |
This week marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther famously nailing his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg. The action brought attention to the rampant abuse inherent in the ecclesiastical structures of his day.
The Crushing Weight of Purity
By Scott Dewey |
Last week I “had the talk” with a group of young leaders in Romania, on the topic of “God and sex.” What was I thinking when I volunteered for that? While I’ve had countless informal conversations with these friends over the years on both subjects, it’s the first time we’ve tackled it formally in our...
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Girardian Lectionary Weekly Reflection:
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
In Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem, “Famous”, we are given a different vision of fame - one that is not interested in power, prestige or self promotion. Nye is interested in the un-fame that honors the relational integrity between things. Notice the pairings: river and fish, tear and cheek, a bent photograph and the one who is carrying it. Nye wants to facilitate that relationship, not control it. Notice the mutuality, the vulnerability, and the risk inherent in this kind of fame. It’s like a pulley that facilitates movement, or a button hole that connects two pieces of fabric. Such is the seat of Moses.
Famous
by Naomi Shihab Nye
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
Prayer
This week, the call to prayer comes from the Street Psalms Prayer of Discernment:
Let us pray.
Lord and giver of life, giver of all good gifts, we recognize that your presence is the substance of all we hope for. Therefore, the deepest gratitude we can offer is our own joy, even when clothed in sorrow.
Amen.
