Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?”” Matthew 19:16-20
“Obey the rules? I do that.” Jesus does want us to obey the rules, the Commandments the Father gave us. Jesus was clear, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets” Matthew 5:17.
But, to believe that following the rules is enough will mislead you, make you a Pharisee. Line them up on a sheet of paper and check them off as you do them right or give a red mark if you miss one. Count ‘em up and mark off your grade with each red mark. Write down all the rules with spaces so you can add hypercritical thoughts or maybe a loophole or two. All to make them stronger, of course.
Give up chocolate or cigarettes or whatever for Lent. Pat yourself on the back for your successes and kick yourself when you give in. Fast all day Friday to strengthen your spirit and gorge yourself at the fish fry as reward.
All theses are set for one thing. The Ten Commandments and guidances of the Church are not there to trip you up but to draw you towards the one thing that matters now in Lent and every day. God.
We live by the law given by God that we may see a path to holiness. To become truly righteous, holy saints, we have to follow these rules. But, there is more that we must follow than the law.
We must know and follow God and the One He sent, Jesus Christ. We must be willing and able to drop all the sinful and bad ways in our lives that the Commandments identify. As, we must be able and willing to drop all other attachments and possessions to be close to Him. If we follow the letter of the law perfectly but, aren’t willing to let go of all we possess, how can we follow Jesus? How can we become His possession?
Do you follow each and every Commandment perfectly? If not, run to the confessional and clean that slate. Start over with head high, following each again. As you leave that confessional, put everything else down and follow Jesus. The only way a soul will be able to accomplish the first part is to do the second. And, maybe in a way, following Christ is more important of the two. He is the law, after all.