Commentary
Sunday, 2/16/2020, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Free Will
First Reading Commentary: Sirach 15:15-20
If you meditate about the many gifts that God has given us and ask yourself which, one is the greatest, there are several gifts that should come to mind. Among them would be life, salvation, the Eucharist and the Kingdom of Heaven. These are but a few and indeed there are many gifts which are bestowed on us and all of them are great. But for me, the gift of free will is special.
Today’s prophecy from Sirach is all about free will. It begins with the word “if.” I consider this word to be the biggest word in the English dictionary. The word “if” suggests that there can be more than one outcome to a situation or decision but a very specific outcome will result from whatever follows.
That brings us to the next important word in Sirach’s prophecy, which is “choose.” Our free will is all about having the ability to make choices. It is because of our free will that we can think, meditate and discern. It is our free will that makes it possible for us to make decisions, choose between good and evil or right and wrong. That ability which is the one thing that makes us superior to all other living things on earth is a divine gift.
Sirach says, “If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you.” In other words, obeying God is a choice. It is not forced on us but there are consequences for making the wrong decision and if we do that, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
The prophecy continues, “If you trust God, you too shall live.” Being able to trust God comes from having faith in God. Faith is also given to us but if we do not use our faith, we cannot trust God. You guessed it, using our faith is another choice.
It is because we do not all choose alike that there are so many religions in the world. Without free will, there would be no religion. Religion would serve no purpose because we would all believe the same thing and that same thing would be dictated to us. But that is not the way that God planned it.
Instead, God gave us a free will. But God did not stop there. God also gave us the choices. They are clear and there is an extreme difference between them. The choices are heaven or hell. Sirach is just as clear in telling us that whichever one we choose; God will give us. We can choose life which is heaven or we can choose death which is hell. We can choose good which will lead us to heaven or we can choose evil which will lead us to hell. The choice is ours to make.
Which leader do you respect more? Do you respect the leader who allows you to have a voice or the leader who is a dictator? In this country, we value our freedom of speech. It is what makes democracy work. Freedom of speech is the wisdom and power behind democracy. So too is the wisdom and power of God by giving us a free will.
But we must not get it twisted. Our free will does not give us the right to run “hog wild.” We have the privilege of making that bad decision if we wish, but God never gave us permission to sin. Sirach tells us that we are not commanded to act unjustly and we are not given a license to sin. No one is excluded from this.
So, when we are about to do something wrong and we are being advised by someone else not to do it and we cop an attitude saying something like, “I can do whatever I want to do;” remember this: Yes, it is your God-given right to choose. Just remember that if you choose wrong, you may be exercising your right to choose hell.
Wisdom and Maturity
Second Reading Commentary: 1 Corinthians 2:6-10
To the Corinthians, being mature was the same as being spiritually enlightened with a deep secret knowledge and a mature person was considered to have advanced in spiritual perfection. This spiritual perfection; is what the Corinthians were seeking from Paul. But Paul’s response to the Corinthians was that they had already been given the secret knowledge.
Paul said that he spoke wisdom to those who were mature which was not of the age or of the rulers of the age who were passing away. In other words, Paul was not telling the people what they wanted to hear. Furthermore, Paul was not repeating what worldly rulers considered to be wise because their perceived wisdom could die with their power.
That said; it is obvious that from Paul’s perspective, those who really were mature already knew the secret knowledge contained in what he said next. Paul said, “Rather, we speak God’s wisdom…predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew.” They could not know because they were not listening to the source who was the Spirit of God.
If Paul were alive today, he would be saying the same thing to us. Our world leaders do not take their wisdom from the Spirit either. If they did, there would be no such thing as legalized abortion or capital punishment or war and the political climate of this nation would not be so divided. To the Corinthians, Paul said that if the rulers of the age knew God’s wisdom, they would not have crucified Christ.
Paul paraphrased Isaiah 64:3 in saying that what we do not see or hear or allow into our hearts has been prepared for those who love God and is revealed in the Spirit who scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
We know that God is all-knowing which means that God knows our every act and our every thought. But here, Paul tells us that God, in the person of the Spirit, also scrutinizes our acts and thoughts. As a, result, God knows when we are sincere and when we are not. In spite, of our brokenness and sinful mistakes, God knows those who love Him and those who do not.
What I find interesting is that God also scrutinizes Himself. That means that God goes to great length to make sure that the wisdom which He gives us; is the wisdom that will lead us to Him. It is up to us to open our eyes and ears and allow that wisdom into our hearts. God does not force His wisdom on us. He gave us a free will and He wants us to use that free will and choose His wisdom.
Choices
Gospel Commentary: Matthew 5:17-37
The theme of exercising our free will when making choices is at the heart of today’s gospel. Jesus presents us with four specific choices. They are; 1-obey the commandments, 2-do not judge others, 3-do not be immoral or commit adultery and 4-do not swear or use God’s name in vain. I have separated this commentary into those four segments.
Obey the Commandments
Commentary: Matthew 5:17-20
Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law. Jesus said that the law is here to stay and that whoever breaks one of the least of the commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But Jesus also said that whoever obeys and teaches the commandments will be called the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
That about says it all and it is very straight forward. To obey or disobey the commandments is a very clear choice. We can choose to teach others to obey the commandments or we can choose to lead others into sin. But if we teach others to sin, we will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven because we have committed two sins. We sin by leading others into sin and we are responsible for the sin which they commit. We make ourselves more than an accessory to their sin—we become the reason for their sin.
But Jesus also said that He came to fulfill. There has to be more to a law than the associated consequences for disobeying it. There has to be a reason for the law which leads to an incentive or positive result. Our incentive and positive result for obeying the Commandments is the promise of eternal life in the Kingdom which is the fulfillment that Jesus gave us with the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-11.
Do Not Judge
Commentary: Matthew 5:21-26
Jesus said, “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is telling us not to judge others. Because they were hypocrites, the scribes and Pharisees were quick to pass judgment and condemnation on others and the whole message of this part of the Gospel is that we must rise above treating people in such a way.
Jesus said, “…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.”
We are all children of God and therefore we are all brothers and sisters so the word brother in this quote from Jesus stands for anyone. Raqa comes from the Aramaic and is a term of abuse. When we call someone a fool, we have passed judgment on them. Therefore, we are being told that anytime we abuse others and pass judgment on them, we leave ourselves open to being judged and sent to Gehenna, which is hell.
Jesus tells us that before we offer our gifts at the altar, we should reconcile our disputes with others. Jesus tells us to settle on the way to court or our opponent will hand us over to the judge who will hand us over to the guard and we will be thrown into prison. Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
Once again, we cannot take the words of what Jesus said literally. Jesus is telling us that before we go through the trouble of taking someone to court to sue them; we have to stop and make every attempt to reconcile our differences. Jesus is telling us that if we are carrying grudges, our offerings to him become meaningless and He does not want them.
We are reminded in many ways and in many of the gospels of the Greatest Commandments. Today is another one of those reminders. Consider this: if we pass judgment on someone and carry a grudge against them, we fail to love our neighbor as we love ourselves and that sets us up to be judged in kind.
Morality
Commentary: Matthew 5:27-32
Jesus was speaking of morality and adultery when He said, "I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart." The devil has done a great job of making sure that we are tempted with this sin every day.
It is hard to watch TV, go to the movies or even pick up a magazine without being tempted. Sometimes, it is even hard to listen to the radio without having a vision come across our minds which will tempt us. And then, there is the internet where we are subjected to every temptation.
Jesus has the answer to the problem. Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away…if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”
Jesus does not want us to pluck our eyes out or cut our hands off. But Jesus is clearly telling us to get rid of the source and cause of the sin. This might mean that some people have, to stop watching certain TV shows and for some people, that might mean getting rid of cable. Some people might need to stop picking up certain magazines and so on. Some people may even need to change their friends.
We have, to ask ourselves this question, “What’s more important, being satisfied physically today or being satisfied by enjoying eternal life in heaven?” Or we can ask this question, “What’s worse, missing out, on that physical pleasure today or spending eternity in hell?” Jesus is telling us that before we give into that temptation, stop and answer the question because where we go for eternity is by our own choosing.
Jesus also said, “…whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” This is, why the Catholic Church does not recognize divorce and why someone who does divorce cannot remarry without excommunicating themselves unless they are granted an annulment.
The Church grants annulments for unlawful marriages. This is because Matrimony is a sacrament. If the Church finds that the grace of the sacrament did not flow, then the marriage is unlawful in the eyes of God and an annulment is granted. Each case is different and there is more than one thing that can keep the grace of the sacrament from flowing. In a civil union, without a minister, there is no sacrament. The Church respects the legality of such a marriage but because there is no sacrament, there is no grace.
It is more difficult for a married person to stay away from adultery than a single person because of what Jesus says about marriage. Married people have, to be especially careful of not committing the sin of lust which often—times will lead to divorce. Also, when people marry, they must make their vows with total sincerity from the heart and should not enter, into civil unions.
Do Not Swear
Commentary: Matthew 5:33-37
Jesus said, “You have heard it said, 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…Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and let your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.”
When you make a vow, you are making a promise and committing yourself to something or someone. You are making a promise to do something or to not do something. Jesus is telling us not to intentionally break promises and to mean what we say. God does not break promises. If we are going to be like God, we can’t break promises either. To be without integrity is to be like the devil, who is full of lies.
This brings us to the other message in this part of the gospel. The act of swearing in and of itself insinuates a lie. When we swear, it is to cover up a lie or to defend against a lie. We are either covering up a lie of our own or of someone else, or we are defending against a lie that has been told against us or someone else. Whatever the situation, if we swear, something may not be true or in the worst—case scenario, something is not true.
Jesus tells us not to swear by heaven or earth or our own head. The message being that all things are of God. Therefore, no matter what it is that we are swearing by, when we swear, we are swearing by God. Because swearing insinuates a lie, and God is truth, Jesus tells us not to swear at all.
Now you might say that when we take an oath in court, we are swearing to the truth and there is nothing wrong with that. You might ask, “When an elected official is sworn into office, they are swearing to uphold the duties of that office and what is wrong with that?” Remember this, when we take an oath in court, it is a court of the land and not God’s court. Also, that oath is a promise—vow to tell the truth. When an official is sworn into office, it is an office of the land and they are really taking a vow which will commit them to the duties of that office. In both cases, we are talking about civic duties and Jesus did tell us to be good citizens. But be careful not to let these examples become excuses for swearing in general, because in this Gospel, Jesus makes it very clear, do not swear!
