For our Gospel reading, we continue to read from the Sermon on the Mount. Lent will begin in two weeks - I strongly encourage you to make as part of your Lenten activity - to read and reflect on Matthew’s Gospel - Chapters 5, 6, 7 - the Sermon on the Mount - Jesus’ basic teachings - in which Jesus lays out for us the guiding principles for life.
In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself and gave directions to His people through the law and the prophets. The law began with the Ten commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Just as Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, Jesus climbs the mountain of the Beatitudes to present the New Law to the people… called the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew's Gospel was written primarily for Christians who were Jews who knew the commandments, but they knew them as their rabbis had taught them. Their rabbis, for the most part – Pharisees, unfortunately, put all the emphasis on the letter of the law and on its external observance.
Jesus taught his followers that their attitude towards the commandments must be different, and must surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees… because merely fulfilling the law was not enough. The attitude and lifestyle of a Christian must reflect living the law. That is why Jesus began His Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes… we heard two Sundays ago.
Instead of giving a list of do’s and don’ts like the Ten Commandments, Jesus gave a list of what we are called to be:
- To be Peacemakers, Merciful, Pure in Heart, Hungry for Righteousness.
- To be the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World as we heard last Sunday.
Jesus taught his audience to understand that obedience is not the ultimate purpose of observing the law. You see, it is not in the action itself but it is in the motivation behind the action - why we do what we do - where the person's true identity is found and formed. People see our actions but God sees our intentions. We can never deceive God who is able to look into our hearts and God knows what lies there in our hearts.
We are all called to be other Christs in the world. We are called to be selfless givers. We are called to be eternal lovers of the Father.
On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains that our external actions must be a reflection of what we really are like because if what we do is not a reflection of who we are, then we are hypocrites. “Hypocrite” - that’s the word that Jesus used over and over again to describe the Pharisees.
To demonstrate his point, Jesus contrasted the written law of the Torah with the new Christian attitude.
Jesus said, "You have heard it said - that murder is wrong, but harboring hatred in your heart is also wrong even if you do not physically kill someone because murder is conceived by hatred in one’s heart.
The person who hates but does not murder is actually NOT a good person. He is just a person who has followed the social norms perhaps to avoid punishment.
Instead of feeling proud or self-satisfied because we have not killed someone, let us examine our hearts to see the angers or resentments in our hearts we may have towards others.
Jesus said: “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.”
Meaning - When you look at a person with lust in your heart; when you watch pornography – you turn the person into an object for your personal pleasure - … instead of seeing the person as a beloved daughter or son of God.
To think and entertain evil thoughts is the same as actually committing the sinful act. So do not entertain the evil thoughts that cross your mind. It is not a sin to be tempted but it becomes a sin when you act on the wrong desire.
You may not have committed murder or adultery, but maybe, if given the opportunity and if you think that you will not be caught, maybe you might have done it… because it is already in your heart.
We heard in our first reading – God gives us a choice: choose Him or reject Him. If we reject God, we die. If we choose God, we live. Before man are life and death, . . . whichever he chooses shall be given him. (Sirach 15:17)
Free will. It is God’s greatest gift to us. Of course, our heavenly Father longs for us to choose life in him, but he will never force himself on us. We need to remember this: God respects our choice. We are free to choose but we are not free from the consequences of our choices.
So - How can our righteousness then exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees? The Good News is - We have what they did not have: By virtue of our baptism - We have the Spirit of Jesus dwelling in us. By our own merits and strength, admittedly - we cannot keep the commandments; but Jesus is with us, in us and so by the power of the Holy Spirit - we already have in us the strength and understanding and the power to live a whole new life of obedience to the Father.
We actually do not need anymore the extra reminder or commandment of the written law because we already observe the law naturally within our hearts.
From the book of the prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34)
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant. I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts…”
St. Paul was a Pharisee and a strict observer of the following of the law of Moses - as such - he believed he was working out his salvation by his careful observance of the law.
But - once St. Paul was converted, after encountering Christ, he began to realize that even perfect observance and following every precept of the law did not lead to salvation because salvation actually comes from our personal relationship with Jesus and Jesus’ free gift of love.
I am saying this with all due respect – unfortunately, there are people who have relationship with religious practices but they do not have personal relationship with God. This is very important - we do good works or avoid evil as an expression of faith – rooted in our personal relationship with God - and not to earn or merit our salvation because – if you think about it - if we can earn our way to heaven by good works, or by reciting long formulas of prayers, that would be trying to save ourselves through our own merits and efforts - meaning - if we can earn our own way to heaven – then we do not need Jesus.
The truth is – Everything is Grace - We cannot do anything enough, we cannot pray long enough to earn our way to heaven. We cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior… Jesus.
So – you might ask: What then – why do we pray – what do we hope to gain by our good works and avoiding violating the ten commandments? For example - Why are you here in the church? You have to ask yourself - Why do you come to mass? Hopefully, your reason is more than just to fulfill an obligation – so to speak – and more than just out of fear of hell or out of fear of not going to heaven you need to get to the point in your spiritual life that you are beyond that reasoning.
We must move from the external actions to interior worship. Going through the motions alone is pointless. We must allow God to act on us and within us as we participate in the external celebration of the Eucharist. Doing good works and avoiding evil - is how we say thank you to God.
We love God and we love others because that is how we respond to the fact that God loves us. He loved us first.
Christianity – to follow Christ - is extremely, to say the least, demanding upon us all because it calls us to be 100% committed to living in the presence of Jesus every day… not only in our behavior – but also deep within our hearts…
The question is: Is it worth it to follow Jesus? It is not easy. The answer - From our second reading today:
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.
In other words: Is it worth it to follow Jesus? Definitely… You can bet your life on it – so to speak - beyond what we can ever imagine. We are IN for a glorious surprise!
God Bless
