Proper 26 (31) – Year A

Welcome to the Twenty-third 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.