February 16^th 2020. Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Mt 5:17-37

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

Please check us out of Facebook

Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

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 fulfil.
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.”

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Sometimes people think that Christianity involves the abandonment of the laws of the Old Testament and the taking up of a new life of following the “heart”, a life without rules and regulations. But Jesus tells us in this Gospel that he has come, not to abolish the law, but to bring it to fulfilment. The old rules about adultery, murder, etc., are not to be abolished, but to made even more rigorous! Adultery is prohibited, but so is even an impure glance at another person. Murder is banned, but so are angry thoughts towards others. Maybe Jesus is exaggerating here? Or maybe the translation is bad? But, when we think about it, isn’t this exactly the level of fidelity and nobility that we long to see in others? We want a spouse that is faithful to this degree. We want our friends to be ready to cut off their hands rather than betray us. If a father only did the minimum due to his children, then he would be a very cold and distant father! True love requires that we go beyond the external observance of the rules and that we are faithful to these rules from the heart. But this is not just difficult for us, it is impossible! That is why Jesus opens his discourse by saying, “I have come not to abolish the law, but to bring it to fulfilment”. It is Jesus who makes our fidelity in love possible! It is not that we have to be strong enough to live this fidelity, but that we have to be humble enough, to abandon ourselves into the arms of Jesus and allow ourselves to be led by him.

Jesus tells us that the laws regarding adultery, murder, etc., are much more than limitations on our exterior actions: they require conversion of the heart. They demand that we root out impure glances, angry feelings, loose talk, etc.

“If your righteousness does not exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven". Scribes and Pharisees were good people who observed the Law of Moses. In this text there is not really a criticism of these pious Jews, who were exemplary in their consistency and tenacity of obedience. But the righteousness of those who follow Christ needs to be even greater! Yet, it was difficult to imagine how one might “do” more than these gentlemen. So Jesus begins to explain what this "more" consists in. Do not kill? Certainly, but don't get angry either, don't offend, don't compete with each other, always seek reconciliation, try to get along with your opponents. Don't commit adultery? That is too little: do not even engage in an inappropriate glance. Should we allow divorce? No! Marriage cannot be dissolved and there is no going back. Does your eye or your hand lead you to do harm? Get rid of it! And do not say anything that is not exactly how it is, without words or manipulations. Whoever thinks that the Gospel is easy should read the text of this Sunday!

Is Jesus going over the top here? Maybe it was a bad translation? No! This is exactly the level of fidelity and generosity that we would love to find in others!

But isn't everything that Jesus says in this passage a little exaggerated? Maybe the translation was poor? Maybe it needs to be understood in context? But, when we think about it, isn’t this the level of fidelity and generosity that we hope to find in others?  Each of us hopes to find a spouse who is faithful to this degree of not glancing at another.  We hope to have friends who go the extra mile to resolve differences between us. We hope to have a brother who would cut off his hand rather than hurt us, or who would rather die than fool us or manipulate us. But perhaps we do not find this level of fidelity because people read this Gospel and say: "Well, let's not exaggerate! Let’s not take it literally!" And they don't exaggerate, but it is impossible to truly love another without exaggerating, without being ready to go the extra mile.

Love requires us to go beyond the rules, but this is impossible for us. We can only love in this radical way if we abandon ourselves into the arms of Jesus and follow him

If a father only does the minimum that is due to his children, then the children will experience their father as being very cold and distant. Who can truly love without going beyond the rules? If we merely abide by the law, then we will never be able to forgive others. But as soon as we see a mother, a priest, a young man, a missionary or someone else go beyond the bounds of love in order to take care of someone, then something lights up within us. It is important that we not discount or dismiss this text, and the rest of the Gospel as well! We need these words to become flesh; we need someone to show us love like this. But to love like this is not just difficult, it is impossible, impossible if we try to do it alone without God. In fact, the Gospel begins by saying: "I did not come to abolish the law, but to bring it to complete fulfilment". Jesus came to give us that something "more", that is why he is the Lord, and only he can introduce us into the life of the kingdom of heaven. It is not about being strong enough to love in this radical way, but about being humble enough to allow ourselves to be led by him. He came for this, to "bring things to fulfilment" and allow us to love truly.