Today’s Gospel is a good reminder that sin is sin whether it is serious or not. Jesus tells us that anger is a sin, not just murder; lust is a sin, not just adultery. Don’t lie, don’t swear. In other words, don’t break even the least of the commandments.
There used to be an expression that someone was on a “slippery slope” that could lead to disaster when he or she started to be less than honest. It is very difficult today to teach the young how to live a moral life because the media is doing such a good job of telling them that there is no such thing as sin. We allow violence into our homes in words and action in our language, in music in video games, on the television, etc. We hold up as role models people whose lives break every commandment. How can we develop a strong “moral compass” in light of these challenges?
Jesus warns us about the consequences of teaching others to break the commandments by the way we live our lives. So how can be models of loving witness? One way is to develop our relationship with God through his Word and prayer. When we gather together to listen to God’s word, pray with one another, we are strengthening this relationship. When we have decisions to make, we can call on the gifts of the Holy Spirit we received in Baptism to help guide us. Just as we can’t live without physical food to nourish us, we can’t live a good spiritual life without the food we receive at the table of the Lord’s Word.
The stronger our relationship to God, the easier it will be to live as God intended us to live – as his beloved children following in the footsteps of Jesus.
Lord, it is so hard to do the right thing and live the right way while we are surrounded by those who would tell us that we are old-fashioned and out of touch with the world. Help us to grow stronger in our relationship with you so that we will be examples of righteousness to others. Amen.
