Christ the Cornerstone

Jesus challenges us to exceed the commandments

Most of us are good people who obey the rules and strive to live good lives. We think we know what God expects from us, and despite our occasional failures at being kind or truthful or honest, for the most part we succeed at being good people.

Unfortunately, Jesus demands more from us—much more. He wants us to be holy and to strive for perfection. It’s true that the Lord is merciful and that he understands, and forgives, our weaknesses and our sins.

But Jesus is never complacent. He always demands more than ordinary goodness. He wants us to follow the rules—to keep the Commandments—but he is not satisfied with ordinary righteousness.

As the rich young man discovered (cf. Matthew 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18), to be “perfect” requires an absolute commitment to give up everything and follow Jesus without counting the cost.

The Scripture readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time call our attention to God’s commandments. The first reading (Sir 15:15-20) tells us that we are free to choose between life and death, goodness and evil:

If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him. (Sir 15:15-17)

Salvation is found in freely choosing to live according to God’s commands. God never forces us to do anything. He invites us to live rightly or to suffer the consequences. “Immense is the wisdom of the Lord,” Sirach tells us. “He is mighty in power, and all-seeing” (Sir 15:18).

The Lord knows us. He sees us even in secret, and he understands both our strengths and our weaknesses, our righteous acts and our sins. And yet he calls us to be better than we are. He challenges us to never settle for “good enough” when we can strive to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect (cf. Mt 5:48).

The second reading for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians speaks to us about God’s wisdom which is hidden and mysterious, only revealed to us in the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. The teachings of the Old Testament, like the best teachings of other great world religions and philosophies, tell us how to be good and how to live in ways that will make us better people. But they do not tell us how to be perfect.

The very idea that we are capable of perfection is scandalous. We say to ourselves, “Well, no one is perfect.” And yet Jesus does not hesitate to demand that we far exceed our own and others’ expectations. He challenges us to be the best that we can be, especially in the moral and spiritual dimensions of our lives.

The Gospel reading for this Sunday (Mt 5:17-37) recalls Jesus’ teaching that “whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:19). This appears to be an impossible standard. Even the slightest transgression of “the least of these commandments” is enough to marginalize us. And yet, the Lord continues to demand more of us.

Sunday’s Gospel reading tells us that Jesus is not satisfied with what might be called “conventional morality.” As he tells his disciples (and all of us):

You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.

But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. (Mt 5:21-22)

Without ever suggesting that the basic premises of the traditional commandments should be set aside, Jesus challenges us to dig deeper into the meaning of these moral precepts and to find in them ways of living that transcend ordinary goodness.

“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees,” Jesus says, “you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:20), Unless we become holy and obey the commandments in our minds and hearts as well as in our external actions, we will never be perfect as God intends us to be.

This is a lot to expect of anyone—even the greatest saints struggle with the call to perfection. But the Lord gives us the grace we need to live holy lives. And when we fail, he readily forgives us and helps us to get back on our feet and try again.

Let’s ask Jesus to help us seek perfection in our daily lives. May we learn to follow him, and live holy lives that far exceed what we and others expect. †