Sixth Sunday of the Year February 12, 2023
Readings: Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10;
Matthew 5:17-37
Many years ago, when a social worker worked as a volunteer at a hospital, he got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. All saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.” As the transfusion progressed, he smiled, seeing the colour returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I die right away, or how soon?” The boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he would have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her. WOW!. Beautiful. He loved his sister and gave everything.
The first reading, taken from
Sirach, contains the clearest statement in the Old Testament concerning the
God-given freedom of the human will. It exonerates God from all responsibility
for evil in the world. “If you choose, you can keep the commandments . . .
before you are life and death, whichever you choose shall be given you.” In the
second reading, Paul challenges his Corinthian believers to appreciate the
wisdom of God’s saving plan for His people, a plan hidden for ages but now
revealed by the Spirit. In the selection from the Sermon on the Mount in
today’s Gospel, while challenging his disciples to live a life of justice and
righteousness which should exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus, as
the new lawgiver, sets forth his own position with regard to the Law given
through Moses, by providing new interpretation and meaning for the old laws. In
today’s Gospel passage, Jesus explains the real meaning of three Mosaic laws
concerning murder, adultery and false oaths.
We hear today the sayings of Jesus.
They are a part of the great Sermon on the Mount, are among those which would
eventually lead to his crucifixion. He is recalling the teaching of Moses, the
great Law-giver, with the expression, “You have heard it was said of old….” But
He now adds, “But I say to you…”
The implication here is that He
is a more authoritative person than Moses. The influential leaders who were
unsympathetic to the person of Jesus met his saving message with hostility.
They were resistant to his preaching of a kingdom which demanded a higher
standard of human conduct than that called for by Moses. Jesus is proclaiming a
new era.
When Jesus said that he has come
not to destroy but to fulfill the Law he meant that he has come to indicate the
real meaning of the Law. One great
Principle that lay behind every prescribed law oral or written was that in all
things a man must seek God’s will and that he must dedicate his whole life in
obeying him. For Jesus the entire
meaning is summed up in one word, namely, Respect or Reverence. He summarizes the Ten Commandments in this
word, reverence to the person of God, to his name, to his day, reverence to the
parents, respect for life, property, personality, respect for truth and to a
person’s good name and finally respect for self.
Jesus did appreciate the Scribes
and the Pharisees for their careful observance of the Law and the Commandments.
But Jesus was critical of their not keeping of the spirit of the law. They stressed on their personal motive and
their own perfection and did not accept the love of God and their neighbor in
practice. They were hypocrites in their
behavior. In order to make his disciples understand his teaching, Jesus gives
six striking examples and in today's Gospel, we have four of them: anger,
adultery, divorce and oath.
The gospel is long today. Isn’t it? Many themes we can reflect upon. I would like to draw your attention to the three points from the gospel.
We need to obey God’s Law, appreciating its basic principles: In obeying God’s law and Church law, let us remember the two basic principles on which these laws are based, namely, the principle of reverence and the principle of respect.
We need to forgive, forget and move toward reconciliation as soon as possible. St. Paul advises us “Be angry (righteous anger) but do not sin” (Eph 4:26). When we keep anger in our spirit, we are inviting physical illnesses like hypertension and mental illnesses like depression. Let us relax and keep silence when we are angry, wait before acting on our anger, give it time to detoxify and cool off, pray for God’s strength for self-control, and give the Holy Spirit time to help us to see the event through Jesus’ eyes instead of through anger’s eyes.
We need to be true to God, to ourselves and to others. Let us allow God’s word of truth to penetrate our minds and hearts and to form our consciences, making us men and women of integrity.
At times the laws can be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Laws give us order, systematic and make us accountable. Without laws our life can be a complete mess. Once we realize the wisdom behind it we love it. Similarly, the laws given by God. They contain a great wisdom of God. Once we understand it we give ourselves completely. Yes, completely! Just like the boy in the story.
Happy Sunday
Good Reflections
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