Don’t Break the Rules!” by Melanie Blaszczak, Fiat Ventures
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Back in middle school, there were two things that really scared me. Well maybe three; tarantulas skill creep me out. But the two things I had in mind were going to confession and my mom getting angry with me. Even worse than that was going to confession because I did something that got my mom angry with me. So I usually did whatever I could to avoid both…and tarantulas.
Today I’m thankful that my mom dragged me to Confession and Mass growing up even though it seemed like we were just following the rules. Now that I’m older, I can see that the rules aren’t there for their own sake, but there’s always a reason behind them. The dotted white lines on the highway are there to keep everyone safe and in their lanes. If we didn’t have them, the rate of accidents would skyrocket! This is obvious to everyone, but for some reason when it comes to the “rules” relating to our faith, we often don’t think about the reasoning and deeper meaning behind them.
In this week’s Gospel from Matthew, Jesus challenges a lot of good religious folks to think about the reasoning behind the rules. Jesus told us that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Could you imagine being there with Jesus and him explaining the deeper meaning of the Commandment to not commit adultery and him saying, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.”? I think everyone hearing him would be shocked and confused. Sure it’s a dramatic example, but he’s making the point that not only should we follow the letter of the law, but also the spirit of the law. He says, “whoever looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Now this is a pretty radical statement. But you know what, most of Jesus’ teachings are radical and they’re supposed to challenge us. And there are two things you can do when you are challenged; you can either, step up and accept the challenge, or you can run the other way.
Jesus not only challenges us on the sixth commandment, but he also challenges us on others as well. For example, the fifth commandment, you shall not kill. Jesus takes it one step further and says, “But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” Again even though a person has not committed the act of murder, Jesus compares murder to being angry with one’s brother. Being angry with your brother and murder are two very different things, but both of these sins have the same root, and both pull us away from God to some degree. Jesus asks us to do whatever we can to stay close to him and avoid sin, however big or small it might be.
So let’s thank God for giving us the Ten Commandments to follow and to live our lives by. And when we sin it causes us to drift from God, and Jesus wants to help us stay close to God through this teaching. Just as a father teaches his children right from wrong, Jesus does the same for all of his children. Lord helps us to live our lives as close to you as possible and when we drift away remind us that you are a merciful Father and you’re always ready to welcome us back.
