HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

Feb 16, 2014

2352

Listen Read

First Reading

A reading from the Book of Sirach (15:15-20)

If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; He has 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. Immense is the wisdom of the Lord; He is mighty in power, and all-seeing. The eyes of God are on those who fear Him; He understands man's every deed. No one does He command to act unjustly, to none does He give license to sin.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34)

(R) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who observe His decrees, who seek Him with all their heart. (R)

You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept. Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping your statutes! (R)

Be good to your servant, that I may live and keep your words. Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law. (R)

Instruct me, O Lord, in the way of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them. Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (2:6-10)

Brothers and sisters: We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away. Rather, we speak God's wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for, it they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him, this, God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (5:38-48)

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 into 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, "fool", will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, "You renegade", 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."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

There is a story of two little boys, Kevin and Ryan. One morning when their mother is busy preparing pancakes for them they begin to argue over who will get the first pancake. The mother seeing the opportunity for a moral lesson says to them, "Boys, if Jesus were sitting here, he would say, let my brother have the first cake. I'll wait." Kevin turns to his little brother and says, "Ryan, you be Jesus."

Friends, the role of a Christian in the world is to be Jesus. We know that being Jesus is tough. It is hard for any of us to live like Jesus. However, we must remember that Jesus began his public ministry by calling people who would be his followers to be him or more like him every day and in every way.

Today we continue our reflection on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount according to the gospel of Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount is a long discourse that Jesus gives to his followers on a hillside at the start of his public ministry. In the sermon he outlines the proper ways and means to approach God and deal with other people. He begins his sermon with a set of eight divine favors or blessings which are called "Beatitudes". He calls those who trust in God, those who mourn for others' suffering; those who are meek; those who desire righteousness; those who are merciful; those who are clean of heart; those who seek and promote peace and those who willingly suffer for Truth, the blessed, and he promises them the great reward of entering heaven and belonging to the kingdom of God or seeing God.

Then he uses the analogy of salt and light to describe how, we, his followers are to live in the world. He calls on us to be the salt of the Earth, so as to preserve others from sin and to make others' life more "flavorful" through our kind thoughts, words and deeds. He also urges us to act as a beacon of light to those in darkness, and bring them to the knowledge of the scriptures and to God. However, we are to remember always that the entire purpose of being salt and light in this world or doing good works is to bring glory to God who in His own time grants us His divine favors.

A part of today's sermon is quite complex. The text begins with a word of reassurance: Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." Jesus is not talking about individual laws, but the Scriptures as a whole which is, The Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) and The Books of the Prophets. So Jesus says that he has not come to do away with the Scriptures, but to fulfill them. Jesus' mission is not only to make us understand the scriptures but also to live the scriptures. And he fulfils the scriptures or the law through perfect obedience and righteousness.

In today's text we hear three examples of the conduct demanded of a Christian. Each law deals with a commandment from the scriptures. Jesus himself repeats and expands upon the commandments. He says, "You have heard that it was said or said to your ancestor ... but I say to you, you shall not do this." We have heard many sermons on these three commandments - You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not take a false oath. So, today let us not delve into these commandments. Instead let us examine one important verse (5:20) in the text which states, "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus is calling his followers to righteousness. What is the meaning of righteousness? By definition "righteousness" means the state of moral perfection required by God to receive divine favors or enter heaven or belong to His Kingdom. That's fine. But then Jesus asks his followers to exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. Why?

These words are directed to all the people who have great admiration for the Scribes and Pharisees, for their seeming righteousness and holiness. In the scriptures the scribes are referred as learned people. They are writers and expounders of the law of God. And the Pharisees are the strictest sect among the Jews for outward religious practices and righteousness. Both groups concern themselves entirely with external observance of the law and tradition. They give little consideration to motives and attitudes. They think, no matter how much they hate a person, if they do not kill him they are not guilty of breaking the commandment. No matter how much they have lust, they do not consider themselves guilty of committing adultery as long as they do not commit the physical act. In other words, their external observance of the law does not arise from a pure heart. There is so much hypocrisy and pretension. They do all these not for the glory of God but for their own glory, and in order to obtain eternal life. Besides, they neglect the weightier matters of the law, and content themselves with the lesser ones. Wherefore Jesus tells his followers that they must have a better righteousness than these people have, if ever they expect to enter into the kingdom of heaven. There will be no admission into heaven or divine favor without righteousness.

The truth is that the purpose of God's law is meant to please God and to be worthy of citizenship in His kingdom. Our significance within the Kingdom of Heaven directly relates to our attitude to God's commandments. If we want to enjoy the benefits of favor with God, then it is not just a matter of trying to keep rules but also living up to the standards of the scriptures. The righteousness that Jesus expects of us is "uncompromising" righteousness. Jesus wants us to be "perfect just as our Father in heaven is perfect". But we realize that despite our best efforts none of us can meet God's standards. That's why, Jesus, the sinless Son of God makes us righteous by willingly taking upon Himself our sins and offering Himself on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for us.

However, today we shall take some time to seriously reflect upon our situation before God. Friends, are you righteous? How perfect are you in your righteousness? How pure and honest are you in your thoughts, words and deeds? Is your Christian life like that of other Christian followers or unbelievers or exceeds them in anyway?

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

Content Options

to download the audio file Sign In » or Register ».
generate Google Translate Layout ».
share this homily via:

Top of Page

More Homilies this Month

Use the Prev or Next buttons to read or listen to the other homilies of the month.

« Prev Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) Next » Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)