Today's antiphon:
"Cast away from you all the crimes that you have committed, says the Lord, and make for yourselves a new heart and spirit." (Ez 18:31)
Jesus is calling us not just to follow the Law, but follow the spirit of the Law. Jesus recognized that people were following the rules set for for them by the Ten Commandments, but that was it, they were missing the Spirit of the Law. That Spirit is why we have the laws, because they were intended to help us form a good conscious, yes, to know right from wrong. The Laws were also intended to help us form good relationships with each other as our brothers' keeper because we are all members of the world and as such our relationships are interwoven and complex. Think about it. Who helped to make your clothes? You've never met them, and yet they have impacted your life significantly. Or what about the food that you eat? You probably haven't met most of the people responsible for it being on your plate, but they have impacted your life.
Jesus is reminding us that yes, we can follow the Law and be good people. However he is calling us to go beyond the letter of the Law and acknowledge that we have a greater responsibility than just what the Law calls for. We are called into communion with each other and in doing so, with God. When we can see the face of God in others, then we know that we are close to being who Jesus challenges us to be because our hearts are changed. He is calling us to a new beginning. It isn't an easy road and if we struggle today, then we always have tomorrow to try again.
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