“HUMAN CLOSENESS”
MONDAY OF THE 21st WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
2 Thess.1:1-5,11-12; Ps.96; Matt.23:13-22

I guess most of us have grown up as haters of the Pharisees. We always accused them as the “contra vida” in the story of Jesus. Them being the reason why Jesus was crucified and died on the cross. However, before dying in ignorance about them, let us try to learn a little more about this group of Jews.

The Pharisees were not priests. They were lay people who took charge of the synagogues. The Sadducees were the priests who were in charge of the Jerusalem temple. During the time of Jesus, there were several thousand Pharisees who were led by two main pharisaical schools: the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel. Those who belong to the school of Shammai were the ultra-conservative ones. For them, holiness of life can be achieved by the strict observance of the Law. Those who belong to the school of Hillel were the more liberal ones. For them, the heart of Judaism are the people and justice. Hence, in our Gospel today, probably, the woes were addressed to the former, the Pharisees who were very legalistic and unrealistic in their observance of the Mosaic Law. However, in any case, the Pharisees were woed or cursed by Jesus because they separate their zeal in observing the Law from their dealings with the people. Indeed, they were true to their name. The Hebrew word for Pharisees is Perushim which means separated ones. They separate themselves from the Gentiles, the unrighteous, in order to attain holiness. Because of this, they received a malediction from Jesus.

The exact opposite happened in our First Reading today. Paul thanked the Thessalonians and even boasted about their Church to the other churches because of their flourishing faith, a growing love with one another, and an enduring disposition in persecutions. For these, they received benediction from Paul.

From the two Readings, we are given two choices on how to attain holiness: the way of the Pharisees or the way of the Thessalonians. Should we separate ourselves from the people like the Pharisees? Or should we be with the people like the Thessalonians?

Pope Francis during his airborne press conference after his Pastoral Visit to Korea was asked by one of the journalists. “What did you feel when you met the families of the Sewol ferry disaster? Aren’t you concerned that your action might be misinterpreted politically?” The Pope humbly replied, “I know that the consolation that I can give, my words, are not a remedy. I cannot give new life to those that are dead. But human closeness in these moments give us strength.”

Let this be our challenge as we commence our pastoral exposure this year. Let us be convinced that holiness cannot be simply achieved by decoding the Summa, by reading the Bible, or by memorizing the Canons. Let us achieve holiness by human closeness! Let us not be like the Pharisees who separate themselves from the people. Instead, let us follow the Thessalonians who achieved holiness by being together in faith and by growing together in love, both in good times and in bad. Let us meet God in the face of the street children, the students, the prisoners, those living in shanties, and in the parishioners, both rich and poor.

The skull cap worn by the bishops and the Pope is known as the solideo which means that it has to be removed only before God, soli Deo! In his Mass at the Quirino Grandstand during the 1995 World Youth Day, after seeing the vast young people in front of him, John Paul II removed his solideo, signifying that He saw God in the faces of the people. He was before God!

After all, holiness is not about being pure and unblemished. It is about seeing God in everything we do; finding God in every place we go; meeting God in every person we meet so that God will be all in all.

Amen!