A Thought

“My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent … For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood … but they lie in wait for their own blood; they lurk secretly for their own lives.  So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owner.”  Proverb 1:10, 16, 18-19

The teachings of Jesus are informed by this basic wisdom of understanding that if we judge, we are bringing judgment upon ourselves.  If we seek to do harm, we are harming ourselves.  If we withhold charity from others, we are withholding charity from ourselves; for all these things done or left undone by our hands are those things we do against or don’t do for our Holy Father.

For those outside the Holy Covenant, these are the things that matter because these are the things unbelievers can see.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day demanded “signs” from Jesus so that He would prove to them who He is, but the signs of the Kingdom come near were best expressed by Jesus’ compassion for those around Him, those who begged for and received mercy.  These acts of charity are the “signs” still among us today, and they come by the gifts we are each endowed with so that the world may know the Kingdom has come near.

Blessings,

Michael