Some sermons are more memorable than others — and not always for the best reasons. About 1970 one of the older priests was, apparently, tired of hearing what we seminarians were saying about a new way of being Church. He preached: “You can love, love, love until the cows come home but you’ve still got to keep the commandments.” Commandment keeping was obviously important to Jesus. “Whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” Yet during his life he was looked upon as a commandment breaker for some of the actions he took. Our Lord is asking us to make sure that we are not content merely doing what the commandment says but looking through the commandment to see its intent — how it helps us connect with God. There is where true obedience lies.
