“UNLESS YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS EXCEEDS THAT OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES…” (Matt 5:20)

⏰Thursday of the Twenty-Eight Week of Ordinary Time 1 (19 October 2017)

????Rom 3:21-30; Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6ab (R.v.7bc); Luke 11:47-54

Was St. Paul actually trying to relegate the law as unnecessary for salivation in Rom 3:21-30? I think that would be a misreading of St. Paul. He rather wants us to understand that we are not slaves of the law – to follow the law blindly without allowing the spirit of the law transform us.

The Pharisees were ardent upholders of the law and the traditions of their fathers. But just like their fathers, before them, they never gave room for any integral transformation of their lives. They were rather interested in remaining ritually clean but never spiritually clean.

Hence, they would build the tombs of the prophets killed by their ancestors, not because they feel remorseful but because they don’t want to be ritually unclean. Can you see why Jesus was condemning them in the Gospel (cf. Luke 11:47-54)? And how free are we from that attitude too? Does our allegiance to the law lead us to an encounter with Christ?

May God also grant us the grace to be great ambassadors of faith, and let all our actions guide us aright on the way to eternal life. Amen.

Have a spiritually-inclined and joyful day. Peace be with you.