Homily for Sunday Ordinary Time 6 A

God’s desire for us is not death, but life: “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love”

I have Mass on Sunday, February 15 at St. Isidore @ 7:30/9:30 am.

The 7:30 am Mass will be live-streamed. https://stisidore.church/worship-online/

frjoedailey@gmail.com

Transcript

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew. 

Jesus said to his disciples, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come 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, Racha, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, you fool, will be liable to the 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's 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's 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 for 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. 

We are continuing our reading of the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed is the very first word that came from the mouth of Jesus. So we, the Church, are holy because Christ loved the Church into holiness and gave her the presence of the Holy Spirit. As we heard in last Sunday's Gospel, Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father. The holiness that we are called to live is the very holiness of Christ, who has called us to be holy. 

In the dogmatic constitution of the Church from the Second Vatican Council, the Church teaches over and over again the scriptures describe for us what this holiness will resemble. a heart of mercy, humility, meekness, patience, awareness of God's mercy when we have sinned, and a spirit of forgiveness toward others. In today's gospel, Jesus is teaching us what this holiness looks like in practice. 

"Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I've come not to abolish, but to fulfill." We call these laws the Ten Commandments. The Bible calls them the Ten Words or Sayings. The very first words that God speaks describe God's covenant with us. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." The commandments are the sign of the covenant between God and the children of Israel. God has brought us out of a place of darkness and is leading us into the fullness of life. Jesus is going to complete that covenant, not by talking about it or by giving us a new law. Through his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus is going to make of us a new creation. As Jesus says in the Gospel of John, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 

The text takes us to hard places which involve looking at our hearts and creating newness within. Jesus is inviting us to live inside the heart of God. "If you choose..., if you trust in God, you too shall live. God's desire for us is not death, but life. "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love." Trivialize even the smallest letter in God's law, and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. 

The command to love God and to love the other as yourself is not stated, but is also central to reading the text. Mutuality, and respect come when individuals honor neighbor as self. It's only then that right relationship is realized. Jesus is teaching us to go beyond conventional religious morality. 

It is these prohibitions, "you shall not...," that expose the easy truces we make. We can pat ourselves on the back for not committing murder while we ruin the reputation of a co-worker through our words. We even call it stabbing someone in the back. We've heard that sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me. But the saying is wrong. Names hurt. Names kill. In our call-out culture, children are cyber-bullied to death. Jesus is right. We should listen to him. The notion that we must reconcile with anyone who has something against us before we can give our gifts to God is an urgent reminder that we cannot worship God with divided hearts. Proverbs 4 verse 23 reminds us, "above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." 

This Wednesday, most, if not all of us, are going to be signed with ashes. There was a column in the New York Times this week by Christopher Beha, who was raised Catholic, lived for years as an atheist, and has recently returned to the practice of faith. Beha writes that he loves Ash Wednesday because "for that one day, our beliefs are conspicuous to others without our having to say a word. While we have ashes on our forehead, all of our actions are being broadcast to everyone who sees us." This is the day when it will be clear whether our holiness is something we are putting on for a day, or something we are living by heart. 

Beha makes a wonderful suggestion. "Then I try, on the next day and the next, to imagine I still have that mark on me, that I am constantly being called to live up to the beliefs I claim to hold." 

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is calling forth a new community, a blessed community, a beloved community, a community meant to initiate a radical way of being human together, a community who will follow in Jesus' footsteps, bringing the human face of God's love to a world hungry for hope and healing. St. Catherine of Siena captures the heart of our call to be church. "Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire."