Ezekiel 18:21-28 / Matthew 5:20-28
Back in the year 1497, the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci finished the mural of the famous Last Supper.
A rumour surrounding the painting was that the same model was used for both Jesus and Judas.
The rumour was that an innocent-looking young man, a baker, posed as Jesus.
Some years later Leonardo discovered a hard-bitten criminal as the model for Judas, not realizing he was the same man.
But that was just the rumour and there is no evidence that Leonardo used the same model for both figures and the story also overestimates the time it took Leonardo to finish the mural.
Whether rumour or otherwise, the reality of life often shows us that when the good become bad, they become the worst of all.
That is also the what the 1st reading is saying.
The good people who have experienced love and goodness are committing a grave sin when they choose to do wrong. Because they sin against the love and goodness of God.
It is also so drastic that all their earlier good deeds are wiped away.
It sounds shocking and "unjust" as the people would complain. But that is the serious consequence of sin isn't it?
Good people should know what evil is, and they should know how disastrous the consequence of sin is.
It can even distort the physical appearance of a person, as the rumour of the painting of the Last Supper goes.
It is also a contradiction when we come before the altar of the Lord with sin in our hearts.
Jesus tells us in the gospel to be reconciled with God and with our neighbour first, if we really know what we are offering.
Let not sin be hardened in our hearts but let love and forgiveness be shown in our faces.