Christ Among the Doctors by Paolo Veronese
Today’s readings for Mass continue the call of Lent to ‘return to the Lord.’ The call today is for us to recognize our sin in the face of the righteousness of God. The Prophet Ezekiel speaks of ‘wicked men’ and the need to turn away from sin.
Do we have the capacity today to recognize where our own ways have become wicked in the sight of God?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus demonstrates how gradual compromises with God’s law leads to sin. The Pharisees can proclaim the commandment: “You shall not kill; and whoever kills is liable to judgment.” But, Jesus calls for looking deeper into the human heart and closer at our actions to see those things which ‘chip away’ at morality and virtue and eventually lead to justifying killing another.
Jesus cautions about anger, name calling, and holding grudges. Each of these are subtle compromises with worldly ways that lead one to be at odds with the way of God.
In our own society, how are we participating in subtle erosions of understanding God as the Law Giver? How is our own view of right and wrong confused with what is legal? How do we participated in the process of moral compromise which leads to sin?
We ask for the grace to name ‘my own sin’ before God. We ask for the grace to recognize where God is calling us to live by his ways.
Please take time to listen to God’s Word in today’s Mass along with the homily below.
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