Acts 15:1-6 / John 15:1-8
One of the most difficult things to change in life is our habits.
Our habits may range from the way we put on a shirt, to the way we talk, to the way we come to church and select the pew we sit on.
It is amazing to think that how much of repetition goes into an act that makes it become a habit.
And from a habit, we may develop a notion and say that that's the way we have always done it, and even to the extent of making a slogan out of it e.g. "That's the way it should be done!"
Such a situation happened even in the early Church when Jewish Christians tried to impose Jewish religious practices like circumcision on the Gentile Christians, as we heard in the 1st reading.
It was simply a case of traditional habits and conservative slogans trying to make an impact.
And if it happens in a religion, it is simply because it is already happening in our lives; it is merely a spill-over.
Actually in life, there are not that many absolutes.
Even habits can change, even principles can change.
But in order to change so as to live a meaningful and fruitful life, there is one absolute that we must adhere to.
We must remain in Jesus and let His living Word slowly prune our minds and our hearts of rigid habits and notions that create obstacles in our lives and for others.
Without Jesus, and cut off from Him, we can't change for any better.