January 2017
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people from the dead on the Sabbath , work . For the Scribes and the Pharisees , rules trumped love .
Here ’ s a modern fable . Amos lived from 10 B . C . until 38 A . D . Amos was an observant Jew . He prided himself on following the rules . STRICTLY ! He dressed as he should . He had big phylacteries ( black bags with bible verses in them that were attached to an observant Jewish man ’ s hair ). He tithed . Amos went to Synagogue when he was supposed to . He prayed in the proper amount , at the proper times . Well , when Amos died and showed-up at the Pearly Gates , he asked Jesus , “ May I please come in ? I followed all of the temple rules . Perfectly .” Jesus checked Amos ’ s record . He said , “ Amos , you certainly followed the rules . There ’ s no doubt about it . But , when the hungry came to your door , you shooed them away , saying you were too busy following the rules . You did the same thing when the sick asked you for help . Amos , you were terrific at following rules , but you absolutely stunk at lovingly helping others . Amos , you didn ’ t get it . Rules make us sterile mules if they don ’ t lead us to love .” Amos , somewhat indignantly , retorted . “ Lord , I certainly hope you ’ re not telling me I should have broken the rules .” Jesus responded , “ Amos that ’ s exactly what I ’ m telling you . Rules are important . Follow them , but not if they keep you from sacrificing yourself to help someone in need . That would make the tools more important than the finished product . That would let tools trump love . And , that would be sinful . For you , Amos , it was sinful .”
Let ’ s transition from Judaism to Catholicism . It is now close to two thousand years later . Why , then , do I not hear more people saying , “ Bless me , father , for I have sinned . I missed three opportunities to love . Let me tell you about them .” My sisters and brothers if we did that , we ’ d be wise people . We ’ d be people who understand rules are only tools that help us to build love . Follow the Church ’ s rules . Cherish them . But don ’ t think that breaking rules is more sinful than not living the Great Commandment .
We should all be like Jesus . We should break the rules if , from time to time , that is the only way to help others , if it is the only way to sacrificially love . And , it ’ d be proper to confess the times we failed to sacrificially love .
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