Going Down A Dark Path

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven - Mt. 5:17-19

In today's gospel, Jesus is telling his disciples that while he isn't there to overthrow the government, he is also not there to overthrow the Jewish religion. However, he does take a jab at the supposed "religious leaders" who he views as leading the people down the wrong path.

But isn't this the same man who cured people on the sabbath? Isn't this a little hypocritical even if he is God? No. Jesus obeyed the laws. When he performed miracles on the sabbath it was not for personal glory, but rather for the glory of God.

But what about people today? As a religion teacher, I've seen first hand what happens when people are lead astray on matters of faith. They lose faith and rarely attempt to get it back. They are lead to believe they should do what they want, when they want, how they want. They understand consequences, but not spiritual ones. If they can't physical deal with the consequence, it doesn't exist to them.

These are the people Jesus is worried about in today's gospel. Those that are so lost they don't even realize that they cannot see where they are going. These are the people Jesus spent his entire ministry trying to recover.

What I need to realize is that Jesus spent 3 years trying to reach out to these people and while he was successful, not all saw the light. If the Son of God struggled in reaching some, then I should not expect to convert all their hearts by myself. I need to trust the Lord and allow him to use me as a vessel to help bring his full flock back.