VIRTUE
For I tell you, if your VIRTUE goes no deeper than that of the Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
When I learnt the Catechism at aged seven I really enjoyed the pages where the Theological and Cardinal Virtues were listed. It all looked very neat and tidy and I would happily reel off the lists. Though I must admit I couldn’t make any great distinction between the Virtues and the Gifts and Fruits of the Spirit that were to be found on the same pages. When you are seven it all seems to come down to being good and trying your best.
When Jesus speaks of virtue I still hear those Catechism answers, but now I know that there is a whole world of meaning in what our text has rendered as ‘virtue’. What is at issue here is in fact a whole way of life. Jesus is asking us to live in such a way that our intentions, words and deeds are all in harmony. This is a picture of integration in its fullest sense. Outer performance or observance is to be in harmony with our hearts.
You may have got to this stage in Lent and feel that you have gone adrift. Lent offers us the opportunity to be intentional about living in an integrated way. Often it is the smallest shoots which bear fruit, so it is always worth paying attention to the tinniest shifts in our inner and outer worlds. We can keep tilling the soil and watering. One day we will notice a little shoot of grow.
How do you hear this text? Have you noticed any new growth in yourself this Lent?
(Matthew 5:20-26, Friday, First Week of Lent)