Summary: <p>In this week's episode, Richard and Fr. Marc reflect on Jesus' famous declamation against the Scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew 23. It is commonly assumed that by condemning the hypocrisy of religious teachers, Jesus is endorsing an alternative, ethically correct teacher. In reality, Matthew's beautiful and emotionally explosive woes are a universal description of flaws inescapable and endemic to human preaching and teaching. This raises important questions about the prophetic function of a teacher's sins, and how these sins are used in Matthew to expose the self-righteous attitude of disciples. (Episode 19)</p>
