Reading 1 SIR 15:15-20
If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
he has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.
Immense is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is mighty in power, and all seeing.
The eyes of God are on those who fear him;
he understands man’s every deed.
No one does he command to act unjustly,
to none does he give license to sin.
Responsorial Psalm PS 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
- (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Be good to your servant, that I may live
and keep your words.
Open my eyes, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes,
that I may exactly observe them.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Reading 2 1 COR 2:6-10
Brothers and sisters:
We speak wisdom to those who are mature,
not wisdom of this age,
nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away.
Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden,
which God predetermined before the ages for our glory,
and which none of the rulers of this age knew;
for, if they had known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But as it is written:
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,
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
Alleluia MT 11:25
- Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MT 5:17-37
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.
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, ‘Raqa,’
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin;
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’
will be liable to 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 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.
“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.
“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.”
This Sunday, we continue our reflection on the wonderful teachings of Jesus in what is called the Sermon on the Mount. In today’s text, we have the teachings of Jesus on different topical issues such as murder, reconciliation, adultery, the sanctity of marriage, oath-taking, truthfulness et cetera.
This Sunday, I want to reflect on the statement of Jesus “…if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of God.” This statement must have been very shocking to those listening to Jesus. The Scribes and Pharisees were seen as the paragon of virtues, the examples of moral excellence, outstanding in righteousness and epitome of sanctity.
The scribes devoted their whole lives to studying, interpreting and teaching the scriptures. The Pharisees, on the other hand, are people who have set themself apart to carefully observe every religious ceremony, practices and every detail of the law.
To assist in understanding and keeping the Law, the Pharisees often expanded the law and added regulations (“fences” or “hedges”), which were designed to prevent people from even coming close to breaking the Law. How on earth will Jesus expect our virtues or righteousness to be better than this sanctified people?
What Jesus is saying is that our righteousness should be of a different kind, not degree. The Greek word is dikaiosunei pleion (a righteousness better than or of a different but higher sort).
So what is wrong with the righteousness of the Pharisees, which made it fall short of the divine standard? Let us quickly examine five points, we shall reflect on three.
- Externalism
- Judgementalism/Separatism.
- Perverted intentionalism
- Selectivism: They observed the convenient matters of the law and neglected weightier matters (Matthew 23:16-24).
- Ego-latrism: The Self is at the center of their piety and not God (Matthew 23:6-7).
Let us reflect more on the first three points;
- Externalism:
It is a righteousness that is merely external and formal without inward transformation. It is a righteousness that amplifies appearance over reality, doing over being (Matthew 15:8; 23:26-28).
God is more interested in the state of our hearts (1 Sam 16:7), it is who we are not who we appear to be or what we perform.
- Judgementalism/Separatism:
It is a righteousness that separated them from others. They passed judgment and look down on others who were not like them. This was why they were always angry with Jesus for mingling with sinners (Matt 9:9-13, Luke 18:11).
The righteousness that makes us look down on people and judge them hastily and uncharitably, holiness that makes it impossible for us to see goodness in others is perverted righteousness.
- Intentionalism:
Jesus accused the Pharisees of parading their good deeds to seek admiration and praises. The intention behind an action is as important or (arguably) even more important than the action (Matt 6:1-2; 5, 23:5). God is very interested in our motivation, our intention for doing what we do. The first reading says, “He notes every action of man.”
To sum up the whole matter, the Lord invites us to honestly examine our piety, our devotion, our spirituality, to purge it of any of these elements- God wants us to be true, sincere, genuine, humble, charitable, compassionate and selfless. These are the virtues that give depth, value and meaning to piety.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami on February 16, 2020