Heartily

Now is Eve of Valentines. People will greet each other tomorrow "Happy Hearts Day"for Valentine is also known as Heart's Day, a day of love. It is the heart, of all body parts, that represents our capacity to love. Our God, furthermore is a god of love. Our capacity to love others and ourselves flows from the God who created us. Oh, what an eternal stream/fountain of love.

God looks through the heart. God is concerned about the things inside a person and not the external. Jesus came to make us see the real beings that God values the most. The Gospel Readings for last week speaks of this thesis. Last Tuesday, Saint Mark shed us light on how Jesus spoke words of criticisms to the Scribes and Pharisees acting like they are perfect because they follow the commandments strictly. His disciples were caught not washing their hands according to the custom. Wednesday is a continuation. Jesus directly pointed out that he is looking at our hearts. It is not the food one eats that defiles a person but the words that came out from one's mouth. Whatever comes from the mouth comes from the heart. What is the sense of following the law physically when inside the heart are malice and hallow religiosity.

Following the law of Gad must be first a desire of the heart. God's law is a law of love. Maybe it wasn't stated earlier until Christ explained it. People became very ritualistic and superficial and so Christ is to remind them that the law exists to bind people in melodious living and to deepen their relationships with the Lord. We do not obey the law for no reason. It should bring out the best in us. We must be better Christians by obeying the law. We must be more loving. In performing the requirements of the law, purification follows.

Jesus was disappointed in seeing that the law failed to better the Israelites. Instead, their hearts became calloused and insensitive to the needs of others while inside of them they are sinning against God. That is mere hypocrisy!

It is not about fulfilling the law word-for-word on its surface. It is about understanding the components of love attached in it. Jesus never wanted to relinquish the law and the commandments given to Moses. He is after our transformation and understanding. To go beyond what the law dictates us to do.

Maybe you think you are OK because you do not kill, but for a Christian killing does not require taking away a life of an individual. If you are hindering the rights of anybody, you may be killing that person. Maybe you are not stealing anyones's money or property and that is good. You may however, have stolen ideas from someone claiming it to be your own. You may have stoles a dream from anybody and may have envied someone for having what you forever won't have. These are sins of the hearts. Even without being caught, God will know because He looks at the heart. We must be persons not only with happy hearts tomorrow but Christians with clean and immaculate hearts.