Today's lectionary took us the next step into Matthew 5 and the scary words about righteousness exceeding that of the pharisees:
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
What it does not say is
...whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be expelled from the kingdom of heaven
...whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be excluded from the kingdom of heaven
...whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be forbidden to enter the kingdom of heaven
In other words, even if or, more properly, when we foul up, or misunderstand the commandments, it is not 'game over' it's just, well, maybe demotion to the bottom of the class.
So, gentle readers, what might the 'least of these comandments' be? The ones about polycotton knickers? The ones about those tattoos? The ones about not planting different seeds in the same patch of ground? The ones about mildewed buildings? The ones about vomit or menstruation or (ahem) ejaculation?
At least the greatest commandments are clear:
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
So just maybe, each and every time we fail on the small ones (which we either don't know or can't remember) we can remind ourselves of the greatest one and begin again...