Gospel Mt 5:17-37
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife – unless the marriage is unlawful – causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”
Homily
Many of the last popes have stated that the loss of the sense of sin, is in fact the great tragedy of the present age. It is in fact the great tragedy of the present age because the lack of the sense of sin speaks of a growing disregard for God who is offended by sin. In its more virulent manifestations it is essentially a lack of faith. This lack of faith does not enable us to build our lives on the sure foundation of God’s word. In its less virulent form the lack of the sense of sin causes us to embrace moral mediocrity in which we do not seek to “be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.” God’s action is no longer the moral compass which directs our lives.
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In the Gospel reading given to us for our meditation this weekend, Jesus calls his followers to seek perfection in their daily lives through a series of four injunctions. In which Jesus calls his disciples to overcome the chief obstacle to perfection which is a very legalistic interpretation of the law instead of an interpretation of the law based on an inner conviction of the heart based on love. And so in this gospel passage Jesus warns his followers. “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The scribes and Pharisees promoted a morality which was tied to the observance of external laws like the washing of plates and bowls and arms and elbows. They did not pay as much attention to a morality based on the heart. Jesus would teach that what was in the heart of a person made that person clean or unclean before God. Jesus therefore goes to the root of the law and explicates it urging his hearers to move from a simple external observance to an observance of the spirit of the law. Jesus then takes several laws as examples and shows his hearers what the spirit of the law truly demands of us. This is especially important for us here in Trinidad and Tobago where we are accustomed to fudge the difference between legality and morality, forgetting that what may be legal may very often not be morally correct.
The gospel passage is calling us therefore to the pursuit of excellence. We pursue excellence in sports, in academia, in business enterprises but forget the pursuit of excellence in spirituality and morality, the last two being of course far more important for us as individuals and as a nation. We will never of course achieve perfection because as human beings we are limited by many factors. We can however push ourselves to being the best that we can be and in so doing help others in their quest for perfection, their quest to be the best that they can be.
That is why there have been certain periods in the history of the church which we call the age of saints. Saints as we know do not come singly. They come like a bunch of grapes. Saint Francis pulled many with him to sanctity as did Benedict and Clare and the Teresas of the Carmelites. Just as these saints inspired many others in the pursuit of holiness, so You and I are called today to inspire others. The world needs this. Our nation needs this. We must not shirk our responsibility.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, You call us to live in such a way that our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. Help us to be persons who seek always to live the spirit of the law, moving beyond externals to live the call to the deep love which laws hold within themselves. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our Mother and Jesus your Son. Amen
