Sometimes living a good Christian life can seem like a lot can’t it? If we read through the Old Testament they had many more laws than we have today, mostly ceremonial or liturgical, but even still they were allowed certain things that Jesus very clearly condemns in the New Testament. One good example would be how Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of their hearts.
So it seems like Jesus in the Gospel today is making an already difficult faith even harder to attain. He says we have heard that murder is wrong, but he wants us not even to be angry with our brothers and sisters. How is this even possible and why are there differences between the Old Testament allowances and what Jesus allows? Well, let’s look very practically at the situation. What is the difference? The difference is Jesus himself.
The people in the Old Testament did not have Jesus. They did not yet have the power of the cross, except for specific examples of some of the prophets who God gave grace to in a very special way. They did not have the power of the sacraments that Christ instituted. It becomes clear with this context that the reason the Israelites hearts were so hardened was because they didn’t have Jesus.
Now Jesus comes on the scene and I think the proper way to look at it is not that Jesus is giving us impossible things to follow, but that he is showing us the new heights of holiness we can attain through his love, grace, and the power of the cross. He is the difference.
This relates back to the Gospel I reflected on earlier this month. Jesus makes it clear that the Sadducees do not believe in the Scriptures and the power of God. It’s as if they are living in the old way without reference to the change. They are trying to abide by the old law without realizing that Christ has come with his power to save us all from our sins and give us the ability to attain a higher standard of holiness.
For any video game nerds out there, Jesus gives us the power to level up. What’s more, Jesus shows us that it was always meant to be this way. He never wanted our hearts to become hardened with sin. From the beginning, he wanted us to receive his love and grace and allow it to change our lives. We are the ones who allowed sin to change the plan. But even in our wretchedness, God had the plan for our future. He sent his only Son so that whoever would believe in him would have eternal life. So how do we surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees as Jesus calls us to in today’s Gospel. We look to him. Jesus is the difference.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 AM 3:1-8; 4:11-12 Hear this word, O children of Israel, that the Lord pronounces over you, over the whole family that I brought up from the land of…
Saint of the Day
Saint Oliver Plunkett
Saint Oliver Plunkett was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. He was executed by the English Crown as the last victim of the Popish Plot.
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