Wednesday.blog
Catholic Calendar for Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Hebrews 7:1-3,15-17
Psalm 110:1-4
Mark 3:1-6
A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:
"Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good?"
This seems like such an easy question to us. Of course, it is always lawful to do good.
But not so easy to people who may have been confused by the rules, who may not have gotten God's commandments all straight. After all, you weren't supposed to walk more than a small portion of a mile on a sabbath, nor were to you to do any work.
How many of us are still bound up in following those "old rules." How many of us say, "Well, I keep the ten commandments, and the golden rule--that should be enough."
Is it? Is it ever enough? Apparently Jesus didn't think so. He kept the commandments of love, even when it seemed that He was breaking other rules. He kept on loving us until He died. And He loves us even now.
It isn't enough to follow the rules. The rules help us know when we stray. But what we must do, what we are called to do, is not follow the rules, but follow Jesus. Sometimes that means that the letter of the law may be left behind even as we fulfill the spirit. Most of the time it means that we follow the rules more perfectly than we could ever possibly do by just following the rule. Follow Jesus with perfect love, and love each other and all your brothers with perfect love, and the answers to Jesus' questions will probably be a lot clearer to you.
- JuandelaCruz
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