Ezekiel 43:1-7 / Matthew 23:1-12
The style of preaching by most Catholic priests, including myself, has always been the brunt of jokes.
Maybe that is because most of the time it is sober, monotonous and also quite straight-forward (not that dramatic).
The
congregation is free to listen or do whatever they may choose to. But
they are certainly not forced to do whatever that is being preached and
neither are they cornered to go along with the crowd.
In fact,
the positive side of the style of Catholic preaching is that the
listener can have the freedom to think and reflect and decide.
Yet,
whatever opinions there may be about the style of Catholic preaching,
priests know that they have to preach the Good News, and not good
suggestions or good advice or good opinions.
And the
Good News is that where the Church is, there is the throne of God, there
is the step on which He rests His feet, and it is there that God dwells
with His people, as we heard in the 1st reading.
Hence good
preaching by the priests should lead the people of God to live in peace
and to love one another and to radiate joy and freedom.
Yet if
Catholics feel that religious obligations are a burden and serving in
Church is a means of self-glory and getting into the lime-light, then
priests may have to ask themselves if they practise what they preached.
The
cornerstone of good preaching is humility and service. Indeed to step on
the pulpit and preach demands that the priest speaks as a humble
servant of God.
Only then will people listen to what the priest has to say about the Good News.
Let us pray for priests that they will serve God and preach to His people with humility.