A Higher Calling
“Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.’”Mt. 5:20
Have you ever been in a situation where you said to yourself, “Well so and so does it too” or “If it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me.” In other words, how often have we found ourselves being content with mediocrity and the status quo? As Christians we are told that just following the letter of the law is not enough. It is not enough to just not hate our enemies, we must love them. As Christians we are called to a higher calling.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus challenges the disciples to think outside the box, to shift their gaze from the mundane to the transcendent, and to go the extra mile and do the unexpected. It is not enough to not kill anyone, for even if one were to be angry at one’s brother to call him a fool “will be liable to fiery Gehenna” (Mt. 5:22). Sounds pretty extreme, doesn’t it? Does Jesus really mean if we are angry with our friend we will go to hell? The short answer is “Yes.” It is possible. If we remain angry in our hearts, and refuse to forgive and reconcile, we may go down a path that will lead to great sin. Jesus was trying to get to the level of the heart, telling us that simply following the law is not enough, is our heart in it? Where is our heart? If we are being honest, we have all sometimes said one thing but then feel something else. Maybe we appeared friendly but then inside we were secretly passing judgment on the other. Where is our heart?
Brothers and sisters, as followers of Christ, who is love itself, we have been tasked with a higher calling. We have been called to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Is there someone who has hurt us and we have yet to forgive them. Let us ask the Father for the grace to live out this higher calling. This higher calling is a supernatural calling, so without supernatural means we will not be able to live it out. Fortunately for us, in Christ we have been baptized into His very life and have been infused with the supernatural virtues, giving us what we need to live out this most supernatural calling.
