Obey AND Teach

            In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says “whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.  But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven”.  We all know we are supposed to follow God’s commandments, but here, Jesus points out that teaching is also important.  We aren’t just called to follow the commandments, which can be hard enough as it is, but also to teach them to others!  Maybe this is why the Church is standing so strongly against homosexual marriage and the pro-choice movement.  We can’t just obey God’s commands in our little Church community.  We must evangelize to the world and share these commandments, in which are found the love and goodness of the Lord.  
             However, in order to teach them, we really have to believe in them, knowing in our hearts that these commands are from God, who is ALL good, and are made to bring us everlasting joy and happiness.  When was the last time you were taught something by someone who didn’t really care about what they were teaching?  Did you learn very much or care about what was being taught?  Wouldn’t it be the same way if we were to teach others about God’s commandments without believing in them?  If we don’t have enthusiasm towards the decrees of the Lord, how do we expect anyone we share them with to?  We must find why we believe in the commandments the Lord gives us so that we can convey that to other people who may not believe in them.  Maybe the reason so many people think the Church is just a bunch of rules and regulations that suppress freedom is because they were taught the commandments of the Church by someone who wasn’t very convicted towards them or didn’t believe in the authentic freedom they give.  With so many misunderstandings in the world around us, we must be able to clear things up in a way that shares the full Truth of God with some passion towards that Truth.  We have to stand up for this faith God has given us so that people will know and believe in the goodness that it brings, the goodness of God and His commandments.  And what better time to do this then now, when the whole world is watching us?

-Stephanie Shipley