February 16, 2020

Filling In For Father… by Erin O’Leary

Today’s readings are all about wisdom and “laws.”  What does it mean to live up to the “immense” wisdom of God?  God gives us freedom to choose our path in life, but how do we make sure we are on the right one?  Jesus spells it out for us but if we don’t realize the context of His message, we might start to focus only on the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.  When Jesus is telling us that our righteousness must be better than that of the scribes and Pharisees, He is using a “low bar” because they were known for caring more about laws than about people.  Jesus is calling us to follow the spirit of the law- Godly wisdom- rather than simply human rules.

It would probably be easier just to worry about following the letter of the law- just do exactly what it says and we’ll be doing what God wants.  But Jesus asks more of us than that- He calls us to have a mature faith and truly give of ourselves.  He wants us to really be His disciple in our thoughts and attitudes as well as our actions.  He wants us to go for the highest bar- to try to understand the wisdom of God.

In a way, it is all about motivation.  We can be motivated by fear of God or punishment.  We can follow the list of rules to feel safe.  Or, we can be like Christ and be motivated by love and compassion.  We can see Christ in each person and act out of love towards others.  We can follow “laws” because it is the right/righteous thing to do and because we care about others.

Jesus sums it up by saying that we should let our “yes mean yes” and our “no mean no.” In other words, be truthful and trustworthy- do the right/righteous thing.  And, as the first reading reminds us, trust in God and live!