How deep or mature have we become in our relationship with God? Some people think that praying the rosary is good enough. Some people think that going for Mass on Sundays is sufficient. Others think that getting involved in certain church activities is good enough. But ask yourself… Have you grown deeper and more mature in your relationship with God? If not, why?
Today’s Gospel warns us that “unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, we will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” The scribes and Pharisees were more interested in observing the letter of the law, and in doing so neglected the spirit of the law. As a result, they became so inflexible, lacked common sense and preferred to lord it over others by telling them what to do, but they did not practice what they preached. Jesus in today’s Gospel also reminds us that it is not enough to just observe the commandments, but one should understand and observe the full implications of the commandments (both letter and spirit) and make every effort to love God and neighbour. For example, we may not actually kill a person, but the fact that we are putting a person down to the point of destroying his or her self-worth and dignity, we are “assassinating” that person.
If we call ourselves Catholics, then we should be mindful about our relationship with God and especially with the people around us. Let us not become self-righteous like the scribes and Pharisees, but learn to be loving and forgiving, just as God is loving and forgiving towards us.