So how to best look at today’s Gospel? There’s clearly an important distinction that Jesus is drawing. We all have “negative” and “positive” duties. The negative duties, such as not to kill or commit adultery, are the easiest to discern and allow for the drawing of clear lines. I think that Jesus was really speaking to the well-to-do of his time, many of whom were living in relative comfort and with the contentment that they’d managed to live their lives without killing or committing adultery. I can almost feel the smug superiority of them as they’d pass by the prostitutes and beggars thinking that they were surely headed to Heaven and the prostitutes and beggars were headed to Hell. But Jesus’s message is that things are far from being that simple, because we have “positive” duties too; most especially to have compassion for those who weren’t born into circumstances as comfortable. It’s not good enough to pass by the less fortunate without lending a helping hand and feeling compassion. In fact, it’s probably less forgivable than those who violate the negative duties. Who on Judgment Day will be viewed as worse? The beggars and prostitutes who were trying to feed their families the only way they knew how or the rich who walked by them and sneered in contempt and did nothing to help? We know the answer Jesus gave because of His words how He spent his earthly time. Let’s all learn from His example. |