Eating a morsel of pork seems such a benign act in exchange for not surrendering one’s body to torture and execution! Surely, bodily life—that precious gift of God—is more important than avoiding some minor infraction of the Law? Still, as we know, this was more than slavish obedience to some arbitrary dietary law. For, eating pork would have symbolically represented disloyalty to God’s covenant and his love. As such, in trying to preserve physical life, this otherwise simple act would have risked spiritual death to the immortal soul. Accordingly, it serves as a timely reminder that it is not only serious sins that risk death to the soul, but even minor offenses, when these reflect an intentional turning away from God and his saving love. For as Jesus asserts (in this morning’s parable) those who are faithful in small matters can be trusted to also be faithful in great matters. Thus, making no (or only little) effort to curb and overcome our minor sins and offenses can, if we are not careful, be as dangerous and spiritually harmful as greater, and even mortal sins.