6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Fr. Vinner)
LOVE, AND DO WHAT YOU WILL
Brothers & Sisters in Christ Jesus,
Today the Liturgy of the word challenges us to choose freely and wisely to observe the laws given by a loving and caring God. He revealed His laws to his chosen people through Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament, and through his own son, Jesus, in the New Testament. For the Israelites, the Torah was not a set of laws but the instruction or teaching intended to promote the holiness and wholeness of each believer. It was the revealed will of a caring God, for the people with whom had he made his covenant.
The book of Sirach contains the clearest statement in the Old Testament concerning the God- given freedom of the human will. It exonerates God from all responsibility for evil in the world. “If you choose, you can keep the commandments……before you are life and death; whichever you choose shall be given you.’ In the second reading, St.Paul challenges his Corinthian believers to appreciate the wisdom of God’s saving plan for his people, a plan hidden of ages but now revealed by the Spirit. In the selection from the sermon on the mount in today’s Gospel, while challenging his disciples to live a life of justice and righteousness which should exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus, as the new lawgiver, sets forth his own position with regard to the law given through Moses, by providing new interpretation and meaning for the old laws, in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus explains the real meaning of three Mosaic laws concerning murder, adultery and false oaths.
For example, two people come to Mass. The one comes because of the law imposed by the church. Because he is there only to fulfill the law, the obligation, he participates passively with indifference and distractions, just waiting for it to be over. The other comes, not because of the law, not because he is obliged, but because he appreciates communal worship as being essential to a truly Christian life, and therefore he wants to come. He participates actively, open and alive to the meaning and message of the liturgical celebration for this life. Both have kept the law, but certainly only one goes out more closely related to God.
Do you see how tremendously different each of these approaches is? How much more real the approach of Jesus is? How much more mature and responsible it is? And yes, how much more demanding, but ultimately how much more satisfying. And what widespread consequences this scriptural understanding of the right meaning and place of law has in our lives. It tells us that indeed we can decide that laws are just and unjust and empowers us to act accordingly. It is the basis for the brave stance of Christian conscientious objectors and the passive resistance of Christian non-violent activists. It is this scriptural understanding of the true meaning and place
Of law that calls those courageous Catholics who act to change church laws that they sincerely see are not good and right and just for the church. And finally, it is this scriptural understanding of the real meaning and place of law that enables us to fully appreciate that ultimately the only law that governs Christians is the law of love. And this is why St. Augustine can say, “love, and do what you will”. That is, love is obligated or bound by no law, but fulfills and goes beyond all law.
In obeying God’s law and Church law, let us remember the two basic principles on which these laws are based, namely, the principle of reverence and the principle of respect. In the first four of the Ten Commandments, we are asked to reverence God, reverence His holy Name, reverence His holy day and reverence our father and mother. The next set of commandments instructs us to respect life, one’s personal integrity and good name, the legal system, another’s property and another’s spouse. Our obedience to these laws must be prompted by love of God and gratitude to God for His blessings.
We need to forgive, forget and move toward reconciliation as soon as possible. When we keep anger in our spirit, we are inviting physical illnesses like hypertension and mental illnesses like depression. Let us relax and keep silence when we are angry, wait before acting on our anger, give it time to detoxify and cool off, pray for God’s strength for self-control, and give the Holy Spirit time to help us to see the event through Jesus’ eyes instead of through anger’s eyes & we need to be true to God, to ourselves and to others. Let us allow God’s word of truth to penetrate our minds and hearts and to form our consciences, making us men and women of integrity.
May God Bless you,
Fr. S.Vinner HGN