When I read the gospel for today, I could not help but think of a quiz in my eighth grade theology book.  It asked why a hypothetical act committed by a fourteen year old boy was wrong.  Was it wrong because he could get caught?  Was it wrong because he would disappoint his parents if they knew?  Was it wrong because he would feel guilty?  Was it wrong because it was against the law?  Was it wrong because he learned in his theology class it was?  Was it wrong because of some principle or truth?

By the eighth grade when I looked at the answers on the piece of paper I knew which was the correct choice, which was the one I should choose.  And sitting in that classroom I did firmly believe that that was truly the correct answer.  But I felt my face redden because I thought of all the times when I behaved rightly because of the other options on the list, not because it was right in itself.  I thought about it with my religion and my relationship with God.  How often did I go to mass because it was the rule, without considering why it was a rule, what made it a truth that we should attend mass weekly? 

Too often I think about my faith as a pro's and con's list that God will fill out on Judgement day.  I sometimes follow the rules of my faith not out of love but out of some reverence for the rules themselves.  The rules are good, true, and important but they are rules for a reason, some overarching truth.  They aren't just rules I learned in theology class in the eighth grade.

I walked away from today's readings thinking they were a challenge.  Can we live good, virtuous lives glorifying God and obeying his commandments always for the sake of our relationship with God and our love for him rather than out of blind obedience to the laws for the sake of ulterior motives?