Tuesday of the
Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Kings 17:7-16; Matthew 5:13-16)
According to social philosopher David Brooks people like
to think of themselves as good. Yet they
find themselves, as always, giving in to selfishness and other vices. How do they live with the contradiction? They mix and match trying to keep themselves
on the positive side of the moral ledger.
For example, they may cheat on their income tax by saying that everybody
does it. At the same time they may give fifty
dollars to the Peter’s Pence collection. Such moral calculus hardly approaches what
Jesus has in mind in the gospel today.
Jesus wants his disciples to be perfect. They are to give good example and, indeed,
attract others by their moral rectitude.
In fact, they are to live in such exemplary ways that their neighbors
will thank God for having them in their midst.
We should never justify immoral acts by saying that
everyone does them. The statement is
false and in any case does not live up to Jesus’ expectations. Some moralists criticize using as a guide to
good behavior, “What would Jesus do?”
Perhaps it is difficult to extrapolate Jesus’ actions to modern
society. But we can certainly ask, “What
does Jesus want us to do?” We hear him
telling us in the gospel today to act as a model for everyone to follow.
