St Martha

"As Moses drew near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. With that, Moses’ wrath flared up, so that he threw the tablets down and broke them on the base of the mountain." Ex 32:19

There is a wonderful midrash that the Jewish people often repeat. Wondering what happened to the broken pieces of the tablets on which God wrote the commandments after Moses smashed them in anger when he found the people worshiping a golden calf and dancing before it, the rabbis suggested that both the broken pieces and the second set of tablets that God gave Moses were placed in the Ark of the Covenant so that we would never forget that we are both whole and broken as individuals and communities.

This is certainly true of the church. Dorothy Day, whose life of service to the very poor and active non violence as a conscientious objector to the Second World War regularly put her in conflict with the American hierarchy once wrote, "As to the church, where else shall we go, except to the Bride of Christ, one flesh with Christ? Though she is a harlot at times, she is our Mother." Catholic Worker
Although they can make us terribly uncomfortable and even angry, we always have need of prophets, people who remind us that God's word cannot be ignored without risking our own integrity and the loss of faith. Jesus was always straightforward as a rabbi with other rabbis and teachers, but never attacked sinners. Calling the Jewish community back to its roots by challenging everything from Sabbath practices to touching the sick, especially women, Jesus demanded that his disciples live the Torah not just know it.

Today, do not criticize others. Reform your own life.

What part of the gospel most challenges you to change?