Unless your righteousness exceeds that of Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven

Ezk. 18:21-28, Mt. 5:20-26. One important exaltation in the prophecy of Ezekiel is the promotion of personal responsibility for sin. Thus, today's readings call us to persevere in doing good throughout our lifetime, having it in mind that no sinner is unworthy of God’s forgiveness. If the sinner is to repent sincerely and turn wholeheartedly towards the Lord with love and commitment to live a righteous life from then on, God will forgive that sinner and judge the sinner based on the desire to love Him and turn away from the sinful past. However, God will not let those who were righteous and yet willingly fell into sin to be admitted into eternal glory. It is by their disobedience and refusal to obey the Lord that they will be judged despite their past righteousness. Jesus makes this clear when He dishes out guidelines for entering the Kingdom of Heaven; “I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.

A major dictate of the law holds: “You shall not kill”. The call of Jesus goes deeper than that; it goes beyond the actual act of killing to the underlying attitudes and emotions which lead people to kill. We need to look beyond the surface of what people do, to cure the underlying passions. We need a renewal of the heart and mind, a true “conversion.” We are not righteous because we have kept all the ritual laws and commandments. We are righteous because we have established relationship with God which helps us to love and respect others. It serves us no good to literally or 'pharisaically' observe every detail of the law on paper when we cannot see the practical application of these laws in our daily dealings with one another.  

May the Lord enlighten our minds to see what matters as we journey to our eternal homeland! Amen!! Good morning and have a wonderful day!!!