Epiphany VI 2023 Year A

A rather hard Gospel to hear this morning as Jesus seems to be telling his disciples and followers that if they follow him they have to be very strict with themselves and each other. That they have to go beyond the injunctions of the 10 commandments. It all sounds very difficult to conform to. Yet, what I think Jesus is doing is encouraging his followers to lead lives of integrity and honesty. Not to say one thing and do another  but to try and live lives that respect other people and to treat others with good intentions. No malice should be in the heart of a follower of Christ and no ill will should be wished upon another. Basically treat each other as you would wish to be treated yourself. I think that teaching holds true as much today as it ever has.

When you say; ‘Yes’ mean  it and when you say; ‘No’ mean it also. This is good advice from Jesus. Have you ever wished you had said; ‘Yes’ to something or ‘No’ and not felt guilty? What Jesus is telling us is that it is okay to say; ‘Yes’ if you really mean it and to likewise say; ‘No’ too and not to over use either. Sometimes we need to say no, to stop ourselves being over whelmed and others times we need to say; ‘Yes’ to draw ourselves out of a comfortable rut. The lesson to learn is when to say yes and no appropriately.