Well Respected Men About Town

Matthew 23:5-7

They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.

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'Cause he gets up in the morning,
And he goes to work at nine,
And he comes back home at five-thirty,
Gets the same train every time.
'Cause his world is built 'round punctuality,
It never fails.

And he's oh, so good,
And he's oh, so fine,
And he's oh, so healthy,
In his body and his mind.
He's a well respected man about town,
Doing the best things so conservatively.

"Well Respected Man About Town" by The Kinks

There is something noble to be said for doing the right things the right way. It's a principle of business popularized by W. Edwards Deming in his business dealings in Japan after World War II. At this time "Made in Japan" meant shoddy where today it means high and consistent in quality. It was Deming who brought this mindset to the Japanese, after his concepts were rejected by American business.

If there is one thing wrong with doing the right things the right way it's that it allows for only slight incremental improvement. It doesn't move toward great leaps of innovation. While both are important, it would be like making cars a little more cost effective while Star Trek transporters are being invented and developed. No matter how much more improved the car becomes, it will become nothing when transporting takes hold.

The Pharisees knew their faith. The Pharisees knew the ways of the Law and the Prophets. The Pharisees were the Sons of Moses. They were the heirs of Abraham. Their God was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In this, they took to the trappings of their station. They make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.

Their world built on everything that was oh so good and oh so right was about to come to an end. Their faith that never fails built on punctuality of ritual cleanliness and blood sacrifice was about to become obsolete. They built their faith on the trappings and requirements of God, not on God's own self. They kept the law without keeping the one who created the Law.

God was about to reveal something new and their faith would not recognize it. This is something we face daily. God revealed himself new in Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus who was the Messiah. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to see and participate in God's work on earth. We must take this seriously. Not because God is changing, but because God continues to create. Through the Holy Spirit we recognize how God reveals himself everyday. If like the Pharisees we hold the law like a gate post, we will never follow the guide posts God places along the way. This is the way of new life in Christ.