Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
“What gets into people?” It’s a worrisome question people tend to ask as we receive a steady diet of violent behavior from the news media. Bad news always gets the lion’s share of attention. Maybe it all goes back to Adam and Eve and what we call original sin. Long before social media the Old Testament provided a record of God constantly calling Israel through the prophets to righteousness with respect to the Law and being faithful to God’s Covenant.
If mankind’s overall response was inconsistent and murky in the Old Testament, the arrival and mission of Jesus certainly clarified the picture. In today’s Gospel He is accusing the Pharisees of distorting the meaning of righteousness and the role of law as they had done throughout their history. Jesus came to remind the people of the need for compassion and balance between faith and reason. The universal password from Jesus can be found in John 8:32 “…the truth will make you free.” The power of simplicity and integrity spoke to the people of the past and continues to speak to our present world of extremes.
We can wonder if people have ever heard of an old Latin saying: “In medio stat virtus!“ or in English: “Virtue stands in the middle.” Herein lies the stability so badly needed today. Once balance is achieved in moderation the seeker of truth will find not only the Good News but also the precious key to that treasure. It turns out to be: John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections