The Bar of Righteousness

~by Adrienne Southgate

picture by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash.com

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ~Matthew 5:19-20

Perfection. That bar of righteousness – – exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees - - is a high one, so most of us can’t help wallowing in verse 19, falling short in meeting the demands of the law and encouraging others to go along in order to get along. We want to do better; we want our children to ignore our stumbles into hypocrisy and live as we say, not as we do. 

And yet, in the space of just two sentences, we see Jesus not simply calling us to account, but also assuring us of his mercy. Have you dropped the ball somehow? It’s all right; you aren’t excluded. He still wants you to join the throng around the throne in heaven. You might be called least in the kingdom, but you’re there. And so are all your friends and family members, and even those whom you could never abide because they always seemed to be perfect.

It strikes me that the righteousness exceeding that of Jesus' contemporary religious authorities is Jesus himself. While we may not achieve perfection, the glory of God is a human being fully realized. Emboldened by the promise that the Kingdom is already ours, what might Jesus be calling us to be? How might we be inspired to live our lives?