Homily: Sixth Sunday Year A

 

Reading 1: This first reading sets the tone for the other two readings. God gives us free will to choose between life and death, good and evil, lasting fire (symbol of eternal separation from God) or soothing water (symbol of the life with God). Our choice will be based on self-gratification or love of God, trusting in our self or trusting in the Lord. He doesn’t causes us to act unjustly or gives us license to sin. Instead, he gives us the grace to know right from wrong, which is his wisdom.

 

If we choose God’s ways because of his grace, God will confirm our choice. This is eternal life with him. If we choose to satisfy ourselves in spite of God’s commands, in spite of his grace, God will confirm our choice. This is the second death, eternal alienation from the Good which is himself.

 

Many people feel that freedom equates license to do anything they want. Rather, true freedom is to choose that which will be beneficial to our eternal happiness. Our eternal happiness is to be in relationship with God. Our eternal unhappiness will be not to be in relationship with God. So choose life or choose death.

 

Gospel: Jesus gives us examples of human wisdom and the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God is found in the Commandments, which he has come to fulfill. How? In the words of Pope Francis, through a higher justice and a more authentic observance.

 

Human wisdom concerning the commandments came from the interpretation of the scribes and Pharisees. They emphasized rote observance and outward conduct. Jesus said our way of life must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.

 

This is how we are to fulfill the commandments, by going to the root which focuses on the intention of the human heart. In other words, human wisdom just goes through the motions and does the actions, without necessarily believing or caring. On the other hand, the wisdom of God says that the fulfillment of the commandments come from the act of love. This is how the commandment is acted on and embraced.

 

I have heard often in confession: I didn’t kill anyone. But Jesus says” you can violate the command of God without physically taking another’s life. We can kill in our speech and in other actions.

 

Human wisdom asks: how can you forgive someone who has hurt you deeply? The wisdom of God says: be reconciled first before you come to offer sacrifice to the Lord through worship.

 

Are we motivated by authentic love of God and love of others in our thoughts, words and deeds? Then we are fulfilling the commands of God. If not, then we are only going through the motion but our heart is far from God. Are we following the wisdom of the world or the wisdom of God? Are we asking God regularly to give us his wisdom: to see how he sees things or are we listening to the wisdom of society and present culture?

 

Reading 2: The first reading said “Vast is the wisdom of the Lord; he is almighty and all-seeing.” We have a natural gift of wisdom and spiritual gift of wisdom. It is this spiritual wisdom that Paul refers to. Human wisdom may tell us to look to our own interest above others. Human wisdom and the world’s wisdom may tell us that we have a right to happiness at all costs. If something makes you happy, if it gives you pleasure, if it enhances you even if others suffer, you should feel free to do it. Human wisdom says might makes right.

 

But there is another type of wisdom, which comes from God. This wisdom is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, given by God to us in Baptism and renewed in Confirmation. What is this wisdom? Paul says the Spirit reveals to us the depths of everything, even the depth of God. This gift of wisdom enables us to know and to see things as God does; in other words, we are able to know in a given situation the will of God.

"To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude. This requires not only courage but also a strong faith. As hard as it is to believe that the dry desolate desert can yield endless varieties of flowers, it is equally hard to imagine that our loneliness is hiding unknown beauty. The movement from loneliness to solitude, however, is the beginning of any spiritual life because it is a movement from the restless senses to the restful spirit, from the outward-reaching cravings to the inward-reaching search, from the fearful clinging to the fearless play." Henri Nouwen

It is hard to carve  a significant period of solitude in the normal busy life each of us experiences daily. When we do, after a while the fruits of the stillness before God will begin to grow. Like everything else, it only happens when we see and make it a priority in one's life.  These times of solitude will begin to bring greater order and clarity in our life. We begin to see things from God's perspective  and importance.  It takes practice to enter into solitude, but more importantly, it is guided by God's grace. As busy as Jesus was in ministry, he sought this solitude, so that he can remain focused on what the Father wanted him to do. So too with us.

 Sixth Sunday of the Year Gospel A

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. 

• The law and the prophets stand for the whole of the Old Testament. Jesus came to fulfill the Mosaic Law and the OT prophesies. The New Covenant includes and concludes the Old Covenant; it both perfects it and transforms it.

• Jesus’ teaching does not reject the old law and the prophets; instead, it illumines the meaning God intended the OT ultimately to have.

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.

• The righteousness that Jesus is talking about is that holiness which is based on love and not following the rules out of obligation. The scribes and Pharisees were seeking righteousness through strict observance of every detail of the many laws imposed by tradition and interpretation. Jesus is calling his followers to do all out of love of God and love of others.

 

"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.

• Jesus begins a series of contrasting ways the righteousness of the religious leaders and the righteousness of his disciples will be different. He underscores his own authority as the Son of God, as the new Moses and Lawgiver. 

• Not only is murder wrong but so is the anger that seeks revenge and other unloving hurtful words towards a child of God. 

 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.

• How often do we celebrate Mass with non-forgiveness in our heart! How can our offering be acceptable to God with such a block within us. We need to forgive in our heart so that God may forgive us.

"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.

• Adultery is a serious sin. But so is the lust of our heart and eyes and the lingering impure thoughts of our mind. 

"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.

• In another area, Jesus said that divorce was permitted in the Old Law because of the hardness of heart of the people. But that is not God’s plan and purpose for a marriage that is sealed before him.

"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."

• Jesus forbids oath swearing for private purposes. Many times we name God as part of our swearing. This is against the Second Commandment.

• We should speak the truth at all times. 

• How do we relate our life against these actions? Where do we fall short? What needs to be done to bring about the righteousness which Jesus seeks in the lives of his disciples?

 There is a difference between loneliness and aloneness.  We avoid the feeing of loneliness because of the pain of emptiness that may come. We try to fill our lives with activities of all sorts just so that we can avoid loneliness. At the same times we mistake loneliness and aloneness. The former is a void to fill. The latter is a grace to experience and grow deeper in our relationship with God. It is in the quiet of the aloneness that we can better hear and respond to the presence of God within us. "Be still and know that I am God."  Even in our moments of loneliness God is present to us. Instead of waiting upon the Lord to speak, we seek to fill the space and time with everything else. Prayer is a time to be alone with God for his sake. When we feel those pains of loneliness, turn to the Lord and still your heart so as to enjoy the aloneness with the One, who loves you beyond measure.

"You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world."  What an awesome responsibility, given to us by Jesus! As disciple/witnesses, we are called by God to make a difference in the world because of what he has done for us. As salt makes something bland very tasty, the way we live and the words we speak should do the same in our environment. We bring the truth of the Gospel, the message of salvation, the love of God to a world that is empty without God. As light expels darkness, gives warmth and provides direction and guidance, so are to see our lives as followers of Jesus doing. It is his light that shines in and through us. We are not to hide the light, but let it shine clearly and brightly so that others may give glory to God. Lord, we renew our commitment to you, to be that salt and that light.

 The Word of God is consistent and true. Repeatedly and in different words God tells us: "I will never forsake you or abandon you.? Do we believe in his word? Do we trust in the veracity of his word? One of the tactics of the Devil is to raise a doubt in our hearts concerning this promise of God. The Evil will use the events in our lives, especially the tragic ones to have us question God. "Where were  you?' His answer will be: "As I was right there when my Son died on the cross for your sake, I am there with you in the midst of your sufferings and experiences."  The words of Jesus can be applied at those moments: "Blessed are they who have not seen, but believe."  Though I do not see God or feel his presence at certain times, I believe, because I am his son or daughter, he is with me as he promised. "We walk by faith and not by sight."

 As we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, what can we learn? First of all, in spite of the privilege that Mary and Joseph have been given, the gift of the Son of God, they remain obedient to the Covenant Law of the Chosen People. Mary completed her forty days of purification after the birth of Jesus. Mary and Joseph offer the sacrifice of redemption on behalf of Jesus. There example should spur us on to greater obedience to the will of God in our own lives. As a result of their obedience, they were given another revelation into God's plan for Jesus. He will be a sign of contradiction, namely, he will embrace the cross, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness and weakness to the Gentiles. But this sign of contradiction would be our salvation. At the same time it is revealed to Mary that she will share in Jesus' death, a sword of intense sorrow will pierce her heart. Obedience to God's will is not always pleasant and easy, but it is the only way to deeper relationship with God.