THE SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

“DO NOT THINK THAT I HAVE COME TO ABOLISH THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS, I HAVE COME NOT TO ABOLISH BUT TO FULFILL"
Mt 5, 17-37
Rev. Alexander Diaz

When God created us, He gave us free will, so we have the choice to choose with full conviction what it is that we want for ourselves. Do we want life or death? We are free to choose good or evil. We have ample capacity to analyze every element that passes through our hands, and that is why the first reading of this Sunday affirms: “God had set before you fire and water, to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.” (Ecle. 15,17)

Generally our humanity burdens us and it is hard to choose the right path, since choosing the right path requiresperseverance and sacrifice. We tend to look for short cuts and the easy way out for everything, we are always looking for what entails us the least amount of sacrifice.

For this simple reason we tend to fail, we end up stuck in the mud of sin, despair and errors. And how sad is the flavor of our life after we have chosen the wrong path, therefore we should be prudent to obey the will of God, and to carry it out.

A few days ago I heard someone say that laws were made to be skipped or jumped, probably many of us also have that mentality, but the reality is very different. God left us His laws so we can lead a better life, so we can follow the right path.

Sometimes when I see the way human beings act, even with the laws around us, acting in a very despotic and tyrannical way, I ask myself, what will the world be like without laws? The world will be a total chaos or something worse.

Jesus is very clear when he spoke about the law, he gave us the guidelines, the rules as to what his teachings were all about. He leaves everything clearly defined, established, that he has not come to abolish the Old law but to perfect it.

And the perfection to the old law that he is introducing is based more on LOVE than the fulfillment of the Old Law itself.

He begins by focusing in one of the strong commandments of the mosaic law, the ancient precept of “Thou shall not kill”.He makes it very clear and explains that to kill someone is not merely taking his life, it is more than that. We can kill a person when we insult him, we kill him with our anger, with our aggression, with our disdain or contempt, our scorn, with our resentment towards that person.

Jesus explain in great detail: “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” (Mt. 5, 23-24).

Do we do this? When we come to Mass and we receive the body of Christ, have we really forgiven the ones who have hurt us? Have we asked forgiveness to the one we have hurt?

Have we gotten rid of all the resentments we have towards others? The Rite of Peace that we do together before receiving Holy Communion indicates precisely what the Lord is talking about.

In actuality, do we really “give each other a fraternal sign of peace”, as the celebrant invites us to do? At that moment,the people we have “close to us” represent “our neighbor”,they represent “our brother” whom the Lord is talking about in this passage.

This gesture should not be an empty or courteous greeting, but something definite, concrete and demanding, showing that we have no bad feelings towards anyone, that our heart is clean of resentments or grudges, that we can communicate the Peace that the Lord has given us.

Only by doing that, if we are completely reconciled with our brother, can we go forward and receive communion, the Body of Christ. Only then can we “come and offer our gift”, by doing and carrying out the Lord’s will, by following the conditions the Lord has indicated.

To forgive is difficult. This is one of the demanding precepts that Jesus asks in His Law of Love. If it is hard for us, let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us this Grace. The grace to pardon, to forgive, is one of the good things the Lord wants us to ask for, so He can give it to us.

Another perfection with regards to the Old Law is, that it is not enough to act in a way that goes against the Law to break it, but just the thought of wishing to do anything against the law, is a fault in itself.

That is why, whoever talks against somebody else, especially if it is a slander or a lie, has killed his brother in his heart. The same applies to a person who looks at another with desire in his or her heart, even if this wish does not materialize, he or she has committed adultery in his/her heart.

Also, the Lord speaks in the Sermon of the Mount against divorce and is in favor of a Christian Marriage lasting forever, this marriage should not be dissolved or annulled.

It is not licit to get divorced and then remarry, based on this law. The Church does not allow the reception of Holy Communion to the ones who are in this irregular position but does invite them to come to Holy Mass, to pray, to do acts of charity and to participate in activities in the church, inviting them to always ask for the grace to be able to regulate their situation and do the right thing.

Judging these demanding precepts from God with human wisdom, they are impossible to understand and very hard to accept.

But if the Christian lets himself be penetrated by Holy Wisdom, he will be blessed because he will be able to enjoy “what God has prepared for those who love Him”. And what God has prepared, we are unable to even imagine.

Saint Paul said: “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, is what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor.2.) Instead of thinking that the precepts of the Lord are impossible to fulfill or too difficult to carry out, it is better to pray with the words of Psalm 118: “Lord show me the path of your laws and I will follow carefully”.

“Lord show me your will and I will keep it with all my heart”. Because if we, as real and true Christians, do not allow ourselves to understand and live the law based in the love and the will of God, it will be very difficult for us to find the real meaning of our existence.

Let us remember that the laws and norms have not been created to be bypassed or broken, but to be respected and obeyed for our own good and our interior growth. If we all were capable of obeying and carrying out the laws, we would live in order and harmony, respecting each other.

If we all made the decision to lives our lives in this way, a world of peace and harmony would not just be a utopia – it would become a reality. It is in our hands to transform our lives for the better.

Give the best of you to the Lord, by carrying out joyfully the mandates and laws of the Lord. Amen