Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A
In the week before Lent begins, the Gospel this weekend is a lengthy description of the importance of the Law for right living. The Pharisees and scribes accuse Jesus of not placing enough emphasis on the Law. The Law comprises the Torah, and commentary is the foundation of Jewish life. The Law regulates every aspect of a person’s life to be in the right orientation to God. It deals with religious practice, including proscriptions on how to relate to your brother and even what you can eat.
From their perspective, the Pharisees and scribes, upon hearing Jesus’ teachings, concluded that he was challenging years of religious tradition. Our Lord was quick to answer their criticisms. “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 the letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.”
In retrospect, we have a better understanding of what it means to fulfill the law. Jesus ascended the mountain and preached to the people about what a person in right relationships with God and his brother looks like. We have come to know it as the Beatitudes. We hear, blest are they who apparently live contrary to what the world believes. Those who mourn, those pure of heart, those who suffer persecution for the sake of God, and all of the rest of the holy attributes.
It has often been said that the Beatitudes are an autobiography of Christ, and those who follow him should have some semblance of those characteristics. By moving beyond the Law as the final arbiter of holiness, Jesus shows that, although the Law is important, it is not an end in itself, but only one means to an end. It helps to be in the right mind and spirit to be in a healthy relationship with God, which we have come to know as living in the state of grace.
Jesus then begins to mention the Commandments one by one and comments on them. Jesus brings up the prohibition on killing, for example. He expands the law and fulfills it by stating that although the sin of killing another is obviously against the law, it is not the only transgression. He says that one who is angry with his brother will also be liable to the judgment.
Jesus looks beyond a particular human behavior, such as killing another, to the cause that existed before the deadly act. He mentions, which the Law does not, the abusive and habitual behaviors that preceded the killing. Even still, a person can change their ways and repent from the cycle of resentment and violence. He encourages those bringing gifts to the altar to first reconcile with their brother before bringing the offering. In other words, to be reconciled with God means first to be reconciled with one’s brother.
Importantly, Jesus teaches that human intention is rooted in a person’s spiritual development. Behavior follows human desire, and if the desire is not in accordance with goodness, the subsequent act will be evil. So, focusing on the behavior is only half the story. What exists in the recesses of the person long before must also be examined and taken to heart if one wishes to be a Christian.
What Jesus wishes to teach us today is that observing the Law alone is not enough. In the passage immediately following our Sunday’s reading, Jesus expounds on this dynamic. “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.”
What we are left with today is a challenge for us to examine our hearts and determine whether we are harboring bad thoughts and desires, even if we have not yet committed a particular sin. If you want to do something this Lent, start by looking into your own heart and examining your desires.