Sunday Meditation: But I Say To You

The Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year A, Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount.  Today is a very long passage, but I will break it down to understand why it’s one complete teaching.  On the surface it appears to be a random set of sayings, but it holds together quite well.  Let’s decompose it.

It breaks down into two sections which I’ll call A and B.  A will have three sub elements and B will have four.  Here is the structure of the passage.

 

A.    The Law

1.     Fulfillment (v. 17-18)

2.     Not Relaxing (v. 19)

3.     Exceeding Righteousness (v. 20)

 

B.    You Have Heard It Said…But I Say To You

1.     Anger (v. 21-26)

2.     Adultery (v. 27-30)

3.     Divorce (v. 31-32)

4.     Swearing Oaths (v. 33-37)

In part A, Jesus is teaching us that in Him “the law” comes to fulfillment, not by relaxing the law, but by exceeding “righteousness.”  In Part B, He gives us four examples in the parallel structure of the law (“You have heard it said”) and its fulfillment (“but I say to you).  The four examples are interesting.  Those are not, I think, the ethical requirements that would come to mind to a first century Jew.

 

 

 

Here is today’s Gospel reading.

 

 

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."

~Mt: 5:17-37

 

Dr. Brant Pitre, who we haven’t had in a while, offers an explanation of fulfillment and the exceeding of righteousness.

 

 

Dr. Pitre:

“What Jesus is revealing here … are aspects of the Old Testament that are not perfect.  In other words, they're not what God ultimately wants for his people… Jesus wants to perfect that law of righteousness and bring the disciples up to the top of the mountain where he's going to give them the new law of the gospel that's not going break the old law but it's going to transform.  It's going to transfigure. It's going to transcend it and bring them up to the the Kingdom of Heaven.  That's what he means when he says that their righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees.”

 

For the pastoral homily, I liked Fr. Joseph Mary of the Capuchin Franciscans.

 

 

Fr. Joseph:

“Sometimes when I'm traveling across the country in my car, I have to go through very small towns. And it's not unusual for me to find myself sitting at a stoplight on some country road at midnight without another car in sight for miles. The law says I should wait for the light to turn green before going. I never do that. I run the red light every time.”

 

What?  Is he serious? He runs the red light every time?  LOL, no way.  I hope that was just to just to bring out the theme of the homily.

What justifies us?  “For Christians, it's not the works of the law that justify, but works of faith, namely, to believe in Jesus Christ and to accept the gift of redemption.”

 

 

 

Sunday Meditation: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”

 

 

I love this song, “Prayer for Guidance” by John Michael Talbot.

 

 

Most High and glorious God

Bring light to the darkness of my heart

Give me right faith, certain hope

And perfect charity

 

Lord, give me insight and wisdom

So I might always discern

Your holy and true will

Sunday Meditation: The Blessed State

In Matthew’s Gospel, after proclaiming the Kingdom of God, which we saw last Sunday, on the fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time He goes up an mountain and delivers his most profound sermon.  We will get parts of The Sermon on the Mount for a few consecutive Sundays, but today we will get perhaps what might be the core of Jesus’s message, the Beatitudes. 

In Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes Jesus describes eight states or conditions of being which when lived lead to salvation.  It is no coincidence they describe Jesus and I surmise describe out states of being in heaven.  These are what we will become when purified.  Start living them now!

 

 

Here is today’s Gospel reading.

 

 

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,

and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.

He began to teach them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven."

~Mt: 5:1-12

 

This week I return to Fr. Geoffrey Plant who first orients us within Matthew’s Gospel then at about the eleven minute mark (if you want to skip ahead) begins explaining the Sermon on the Mount.

To me the most insightful aspect of Fr. Geoffrey’s homily is his definition of “blessedness.”

So when [makarios] is used in the New Testament it no longer describes the gods, or the wealthy, or those fortunate in worldly terms.  It denotes the person who is aligned with God; the one whose life is shaped by God’s reign.  It refers to a joy and flourishing that circumstances cannot touch.  For that reason it should not be translated as “happy” in the modern sense.  It means “deeply flourishing,” or being in a state of  “God-given well-being.

 

Here is someone new to my blog for the pastoral homily, Monsignor Roger Landry of The Pontifical Mission Societies in the U.S.  Msgr Landry speaks from his own mountain top, a rooftop in Manhattan.

Pope St. John Paul II considered this man to have lived out the Beatitudes, now St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.  I have posted on him. 

 

 

Sunday Meditation: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."

 

 

John Michael Talbot sings the beatitudes.

“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see the face of God, they shall see the face of God.”

 

 

Sunday Meditation: Turn the Other Cheek and Be Perfect

The Sermon on the Mount Continues for a third Sunday.  Today Jesus tells us some of His most difficult exhortations.

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You have heard that it was said,

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.

When someone strikes you on your right cheek,

turn the other one as well.

If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,

hand over your cloak as well.

Should anyone press you into service for one mile,

go for two miles.

Give to the one who asks of you,

and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

 

"You have heard that it was said,

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies

and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your heavenly Father,

for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,

and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?

Do not the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet your brothers only,

what is unusual about that?

Do not the pagans do the same?

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

~Mt 5:17-37

Bishop Barron has a superb, must hear sermon on this.

 

“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  So if your right cheek is struck, it may not be a sin to protect yourself, but turning the other cheek is perfect, to be holy. 

Sunday Meditation: Fulfilling the Law

It’s a long Gospel this Sunday.  The Sermon on the Mount Continues

 

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."

~Mt 5:17-37

It’s a long passage but I’m going to give you a short insight, this by John Michael Talbot.

 

Is there a particular line or exhortation that gets your attention?  For me it’s this:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”