Reflecting on our Sunday Readings with Bro Selva Francis

Feb 10, 2023

                                          Reflecting on our Sunday Readings with Bro Selva Francis

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
Readings: Sirach 15:15-20;
1 Corinthians 2:6-10;
Gospel: Matthew 5:17-37

Today, the Church invites us to reflect on the law of Christ and to pay attention to what the Church is teaching us. The law of Christ is a divine law and it gives life to those who are faithful to it. Hence, to obey it is an essential choice for life and happiness. He expected us to understand and apply the moral principles already revealed in Scripture.

Danish philosopher and Christian thinker Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) said every choice we make is important to our characters because even if choices are trivial, many meaningless choices will add up and give meaning. Therefore, it is important to choose properly. We should not worry about the bad decisions we make now because those decisions can help us make better ones in the future.

Jesus is challenging us to choose freely either to observe the laws He gave to us or not. Yes... it does involve sacrifice and consistency, they are heavy, but His salvation awaits those who choose them with courage and confidence.

In today’s Gospel, Matthew presents Jesus as a perfection of the law and Jesus instructs His disciples what not to do: “I have come not to abolish the law but to fulfil it.” The righteousness of Jesus’ followers must go beyond the thinking of mere “religiosity”. Jesus assured His listeners that he was not anti-law at all. On the contrary, He fulfilled it; that is, both to keep and explain fully its original intention, which they had managed to miss over the centuries.

Jesus’ teaching here awakened His people to what the law meant from the beginning. He clarified God’s long standing desire that His creation be characterised by both internal (attitudes) and external (actions) obedience and holiness.

Fulfilled law is written on the heart. Jesus Himself fulfilled the law in several ways: (1) by keeping it perfectly; (2) by fulfilling the Old Testament messianic types and prophecies; and (3) by providing the way of salvation that meets all the righteous requirements of the law.

Once again, Jesus affirmed the law as it was but He began to shift His focus toward those who had changed its original meaning, while claiming to uphold it unchanged. Not only did He identify the Pharisees and other religious leaders by their tampering with the law, but He also focused on their responsibility to teach others.

We notice in the Gospel that some of Jesus’ statements would have shocked His listeners especially the scribes and Pharisees. They considered themselves the ultimate example of righteousness. To the Jewish listener, Jesus’ statement meant that no one could enter heaven. To the average person, the Pharisees were the truly holy people. Jesus claimed that even they were not good enough!

Jesus’ response to the religious authorities is enlightening for us. Jesus went on to illustrate how bad their understanding of the law was by making comparison after comparison (you have heard that it was said … but I tell you; 5:21–22). Yes… sometimes we too fall in the category of the scribes and Pharisees – we are good at judging others quickly rather than examining our own selves.

As I reflect on this Scripture reading, I am reminded of my pastoral experience which transformed my heart to be more compassionate and merciful to others. One of the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion told me “Brother, you please don’t give Holy Communion to that woman because she is a divorcee and she is not obedient to the Church.” The question I asked myself was, “Who are we to judge others?” The leaders were making judgements without clarifying matters thoroughly, without exploring the real situation. If we judge others, we are the ones who will be liable for judgment, not them.

Jesus warns His disciples about the danger of thoughts and impurity, language, adultery, divorce or making false allegations, false oaths or pledges. The underlying principle is: Seek and apply the intention of God’s instruction, not merely the letter of it. However, this is difficult to do on a human level but as we seek Him sincerely with all our hearts, He will reveal it to us (Prov. 2:1 – Moral benefits of wisdom). We have to obey God wholeheartedly and let our hearts be transformed by His grace to move forward in our lives.

That’s why, in today’s first reading, God presents us with two options, life and death.” He gives us the freedom to make our choice. In order to make decisions and choices in life, He also gave us reasons to guide us. Consequently, if we choose to obey His laws, we shall be happy but if we make the wrong choice, we shall face the consequences. For this reason, the psalmist reminds us that: “They are happy who follow God’s Law” —meaning to say we are free beings, God never forces anybody.

In the second reading, St Paul refers to the law of Christ as wisdom. Therefore, to obey the law of Christ is the wisest thing to do. We have to understand that God’s salvation cannot be understood through human reasoning. He said, the wisdom that comes from the Laws of God is divinely inspired, whereas, the wisdom of men has its own limitations.

Many Christians today similarly profess to agree with Jesus’ doctrine but do not obey it. Jesus is very clear about what we are not to do in our daily lives. Let us ask ourselves: Do we take Jesus’ words seriously? Do we strive for change as He calls us to live? Yes… Lent is nearing and we have a choice now – what will we choose today?

(Bro Selva Francis has completed his seminary studies and is currently doing his pastoral attachment at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Kuala Lumpur.)