Unless your righteousness surpasses

Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees . . . 

Infomercials.   Self-improvement websites.   Pop psychology books and slogans.   It seems that everywhere you turn, you are encouraged not to think too deeply about life and its challenges.   Just find the quick answer, and you’ll be happy.

But the quick-and-easy approach to life doesn’t work when it comes to living out our call to discipleship, does it?   Try though we might, we just can’t reduce God’s eternal plan of salvation to three easy steps.   If it were that simple, then the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees would be more than enough.   They were quite rigorous, after all.

So on the one hand, we have the call to a challenging life.   But on the other hand, we need to be careful not to think about it in terms of the amount of things we do, as in taking five steps instead of three.   It’s better to think of it in terms of the kind of things we do.   For example, right after telling us to surpass the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus tells us not to be angry with each other.   He tells us to be quick to forgive and gentle with our words.   So it seems that the righteousness Jesus is talking about isn’t a matter of doing more;  it’s a matter of loving more.   It’s a matter of giving generously, forgiving readily, and speaking compassionately.

So yet, this is a challenging message.   Jesus is asking us to do nothing less than to rise above our human flaws and weaknesses and love other people with the same love that he has for us.   Of course, he offers us his grace, but it is still up to us to choose this path of righteousness.

Is there someone you have tried to forgive but have been unable to?   Or are you harboring anger or resentment against someone?   Ask Jesus to help you take one step closer to his level of holiness.   Ask him to show you his love so that you can love your brothers and sisters in Christ—and even your enemies—a little better today.   It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you keep on asking. Jesus will see to it.

word among us