The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary look at
suffering and the falseness of external faith. The time when the going gets
tough is often a turning point in our lives. We are confronted with a decision
to bring peace to a situation either by abandoning our pursuit or by increasing
our determination to continue on the right path to overcome difficulty. The second
letter to the Thessalonians praises God for the faith which is growing in the
community evidenced by increasing love for one another. The letter recognizes
the suffering through which the community is moving. So often when a family or
community comes together to support one another in tragedy and difficulty, the
love becomes visible in action, word and gesture. This love and compassion for
each other is the foretaste of the righteousness which is the destiny of the
believer. God is love. Witness love is to witness the life of the Kingdom of
God. The Gospel of Matthew today rings with the condemnation for those who
would impose unnecessary hardship on people and focus on an external faith
based on observance of rules and laws. The Scribes and Pharisees are the target
of Jesus harsh judgement. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the inappropriate
actions whereby Pharisees literally made life hell for others. This imposition
of rules and rituals which take our attention away from the love, forgiveness
and compassion of our encounter with God are too often accepted by people as an
easy way to attend to our need for spiritual peace. The tough going is to seek
communion with the Presence of God as we continue to respond to the invitation
to greater intimacy with God through the practice of the love as witnessed by
the author of the letter to the Thessalonians.
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