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Given at Our Lady of Lourdes, University City, Missouri. Readings for Today. Listen to our other homilies.
Follow the Rules: But in the Right Way
Why do we have rules? I worked in a school that was guided by two rules. Respect yourself and others. Respect the property. In fact, if you think about it, all rules can be encapsulated in these two statements. Religion is the same. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
In today’s gospel, Jesus assures us that he is not doing away with rules. But he is suggesting how important it is for us to understand their purpose. It is not only about compliance. It is not only because humans need to be controlled. Rather, it is because we need to be called to something. We need to become someone.
The scribes and the pharisees focused on the external in their lives, which to be sure, is much easier. Giving up chocolate for Lent? Easy. (For God’s sake, if we cannot go without chocolate for 50 days, what are we?) Recognizing that our desire for chocolate is symptomatic of selfishness, and that we need to become more generous, now that is something.
Who is God calling you to become?
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