Friday, August 22, 2014

20th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 23-08-14

Ezekiel 43:1-7 / Matthew 23:1-12

Everyone who is in the teaching ministry knows the necessity of practicing what he teaches.

And the complementary aspect can also be to teach about what one practices.

Because when one teaches about what one practices, then the premise is the reality of life and not just from precepts or concepts.

Then the teaching becomes related with life, with the struggles and failures, the disappointments and pain, the tears and sweat.

Jesus tells us in the gospel to get down to the reality of life and not to expect from others what we ourselves cannot do or won't do.

He told the people not to be guided by what the scribes and Pharisees do, since they do not practice what they preach.

But He also said something important before that - You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say.

To preach about what we practice may have a connection to the reality of life but yet it may also limit the challenge to the growth in spirituality and discovery of self.

We must remember that God has called us to be holy, just as He is holy.

To follow Jesus is not to be contented with what we are doing now but to discover what He wants us to do.

Indeed, the precepts of Christianity opens our eyes to the depth of the reality of life. When our eyes are opened, we will have to do what has to be done.