12 October 2021
Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
What makes us righteous? Righteousness is about being clean from the inside out. As Jesus reminds the Pharisees in today’s gospel, washing your hands (while laudable), does not make you righteous (cf. Lk. 11:39). Righteousness cannot come from a ritual washing, or any other action that is merely external. Rather, we are “righteous by faith” (Rm. 1:17).
What is it about faith that makes us righteous? Through faith, we trust in everything God tells us, and we believe what God reveals to us. Faith does not just change how we see God—it changes how we ourselves, creation, and absolutely everything. As you hear Paul talk about how we are made righteous by faith, perhaps this is the day to ask yourself: how has faith made you righteous, how has faith changed how you see the world, how has faith changed your life?