07/03/2023
Today's Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12
Practice what you preach. Walk the walk, talk the talk. Your children will copy what you do more than what you say.
We have all heard these sayings and hopefully try to live them out. Jesus says these words to the apostles in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew too. He is frustrated with the religious leaders for not living these words out and used them as an example to His followers to be more like Him than the hypocritical leaders.
Jesus is reminding His disciples to act in a way that exemplifies their faith in God and love for all people. He wants all of us to follow His example of serving others and putting them humbly before our own needs.
We can’t just say we love Jesus and think that going to church once a week is enough to prove our love for Him. We can’t expect our adult children to attend Mass if we aren’t going ourselves every Sunday and providing a good example. We can’t teach our kids the Ten Commandments and then use God’s name in vain around them. We can’t say we are Christians but then tell racist jokes, watch explicit movies, or say hurtful biased things on social media.
Being a Christian is a 24/7 commitment, and if we try hard to live that out, we can be a beautiful example to others like Jesus was. And this Christian life leads to peace and true joy.
