Jesus said in today’s gospel:
“Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so, will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
The way we live our lives and the example we set for other people matters a great deal to Jesus. It sure is hard for us to take a good, honest look at ourselves and our own failings sometimes though. It is easier to see the faults in other people. But, if we held a mirror up to our own lives, we might be ashamed of how we act sometimes too. Do you ever wonder how other people see you? Do they see your good qualities? Or only notice your faults?
This is why we have forty days in Lent every year. Otherwise, we might not ever take the time to analyze our own shortcomings, or actively seek to grow in holiness. The reverse is also true too though. We do a lot of small, good things every day, that adds up.
According to what Jesus said in the gospel today, what we do matters just as much (if not more) than what we say. That is hard for some of us to think about sometimes though. Our marriages and children are not perfect and neither are our relationships with our extended families and our co-workers. Do our lives really give witness to Christ? We talk about Jesus a lot, but do our actions in life reflect the same thing as our words?
When you were a child, do you ever remember hearing someone say, “little pitchers have big ears?” It was an adult secret language that meant – watch what you say because the children are listening. This is exactly what Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel.
If you really want to know what the adults are like in the family, just listen to the children, because they usually mimic their parents. It can be embarrassing sometimes to realize they listen to every single word you say, even the careless, thoughtless words we do not pay very much attention to at the time. However, it is also a beautiful thing to discover that your children learned something good from you, without you realizing that they were paying attention to something good that you said or did.
This is also what matters to Jesus, and what we will be remembered for after we have passed from this earth. What kind of person we are and what other people learned from us, both good and bad.
Let’s not become discouraged over our faults, but continue to work toward improving them. And continue to learn more about Jesus and how to live a Christian life more completely. To seek to grow in knowledge and in holiness the rest of our lives. There is a saying in the life of a Christian, that we never remain in the same place. We are either growing in holiness, or losing ground. Either way, we affect the rest of the church, including our family, friends, coworkers, classmates, etc. No one is an island unto themselves. The smallest negative thing we say or do affects the entire body of Christ, tearing it down a little. But, the smallest good thing we say or do has repercussions throughout our family and the whole church as well, helping to build up the entire body of Christ.
The thought for today might be to ask ourselves what kind of example we are setting for others, not just in what we say, but also by what we do? And, let’s not haphazardly gloss this over, because Jesus said that, “not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.”
Our little words and our little actions matter a great deal more than most of us ever realize.
