Sunday, July 25, 2021

17th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 26-07-2021

Exodus 32:15-24, 30-34 / Matthew 13:31-35    

The 10 Commandments were given by God to Moses and it was meant for the people to know what are the spiritual and moral obligations that they have to observe.

The 1st reading said that the 10 Commandments were inscribed on two tablets. They were the work of God, and the writing on them was God's writing engraved on the tablets.

Maybe that is where that phrase "written on stone" comes from. As such it also means that to break any of the 10 Commandments would be a serious offence.

But when Moses came down from the mountain and saw what the people did, he literally broke all the 10 Commandments at one go when he threw down and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

To break one Commandment is considered a serious sin, so when Moses broke the two tablets, he was showing the seriousness of the sin of the people.

But sin is not usually committed in leaps and bounds. It is usually progressive, as in it begins with a small sin and then when left unchecked it becomes bigger and bigger until it becomes a serious sin.

If that can be said of sin, the same can be said of virtue.

In the gospel, Jesus used the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven to teach about the kingdom of heaven.

The growth of virtue is similar. When we choose to do a little good, that is one step toward growth in the kingdom of heaven.

And every time we choose to obey the 10 Commandments, we too grow in virtue and obedience to God and help others to walk in the Lord's ways.