Deacon Greg 2-16-20
Today, the Gospel continues Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which actually began in our cycle of Gospels two weeks ago. We missed the beginning back on Feb. 2nd as we were celebrating the Presentation of the Lord, which takes precedent over Ordinary Time when Feb 2nd falls on a Sunday. Anyway, this Sermon actually begins with the 5th Chapter of Matthew and continues through the 7th Chapter. Listen to the bullet points of the entire Sermon: First there’s The Beatitudes, “Blessed are they who…,” the most familiar part. This is often treated as the entire Sermon, when it’s actually just the introduction. The teaching continues, calling us to be salt & light for the world, (last week’s Gospel) reassuring us that Christ has come to fulfill the Law! He teaches us ways that we can handle anger, lust, and broken relationships. He models for us the art of taking an oath, challenging us to let our YES mean yes, and our NO mean no. The Sermon also offers us the way to deal with retaliation by loving our enemies and to love by giving to the needy. We learn how to pray and fast, calling God “Our Father,” asking him to hear our prayer, knowing that it will be heard. We are called to seek the treasures of heaven by avoiding anxiety, and the judging of others, all rooted in the Golden Rule, doing unto others as we would have them do unto us, giving us a firm foundation of faith, knowing that Jesus teaches it all with the authority given to him by his Father!
But let’s come back to today’s excerpt from the Sermon, and let’s listen again carefully to what Jesus says about murder: “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.”
To help teach the Disciples, Jesus begins to play on a few words, and even comes off as unrealistic to make his ultimate point, calling on us to look inward sooner, rather than later! First, he cites the commandment and its consequence: whoever kills will be liable to judgment. “Judgment” here is not punishment after death, but a recognition of the legal process - Kill and you shall be tried for it. But then Jesus says, “Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to the same judgment,” begging the rational listener to say, “Wait a minute! You can't litigate anger. There's nothing to take to court.” Jesus continues by saying that whoever resorts to “trash talking,” calling someone “Raqa” which literally means imbecile, or for you Charlie Brown fans, “Block Head,” they’re liable to go to the Sanhedrin, the equivalent of our Supreme Court; or if they shout “You Fool,” they’re heading to fiery Gehenna… YES… That Gehenna… begging that same rational listener to say, “Well that’s kind of excessive. They didn’t even break the Law, and that sends them to hell?”
Jesus' implied answer could very well have been, “YES. Don't think that you are obeying the Law on murder just because you haven't killed. I am calling you to something that the law can't reach, the disposition of your heart. If you want to avoid violence, first deal with the anger in your heart. If you want to avoid adultery, commit your life to focusing your attention on the real people that you love, not the imaginary pictures that lure us all into thinking that life is better on the other end of the fantasy.”
Left unchallenged, those moments of anger, pettiness, lust and isolation just lead us to making really bad decisions with even worse outcomes … SO JESUS IS SAYING, FOR OUR OWN GOOD, DEAL WITH THINGS NOW!
Listen again to the solution offered us today! “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there, you 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.”
That could mean that TODAY is the day that you leave this place to go and make peace with your brother & sister. Today could be the day that you get back to loving those IN your life! Today is the day that we can know the Law for what it truly is… An opportunity to love and live in the true love of God, allowing that love to grow in our hearts… It allows us to form habits that make us naturally loving and ready to serve… Beginning today, let’s live lives of virtue! I know it sounds trite, but think of this call to holiness as an insurance policy or a retirement plan. What you protect now, and the discipline you live by in this present moment, makes for an amazing benefit in the future! In the spirit of the First Reading from Sirach, if we choose, we can keep the commandments, and they will save us; for if we trust in God, we shall live! Before us are life and death, good and evil, whichever we choose shall be given to us, so as Jesus said at the conclusion of this third part of the Sermon on the Mount, “let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,' and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’!
I think by now, you’ve learned that I’m not into over-complicating things, so I’m positive that our Lord is making a simple point today… Before things get out of hand, start dealing with your issues now, while they are still manageable! Anger and disagreement, misunderstandings and broken relationships, lust and misguided pride… It all leads to something bigger!
THE HEALING STARTS TODAY. IT ALL STARTS HERE, IN THE HEART, for as St. Paul reassures us in the Second Reading, we have been given a mysterious and hidden wisdom, revealed to us through the Holy Spirit, and this gift will help us to win those little battles within, before they turn into wars with something bigger!
But let’s come back to today’s excerpt from the Sermon, and let’s listen again carefully to what Jesus says about murder: “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.”
To help teach the Disciples, Jesus begins to play on a few words, and even comes off as unrealistic to make his ultimate point, calling on us to look inward sooner, rather than later! First, he cites the commandment and its consequence: whoever kills will be liable to judgment. “Judgment” here is not punishment after death, but a recognition of the legal process - Kill and you shall be tried for it. But then Jesus says, “Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to the same judgment,” begging the rational listener to say, “Wait a minute! You can't litigate anger. There's nothing to take to court.” Jesus continues by saying that whoever resorts to “trash talking,” calling someone “Raqa” which literally means imbecile, or for you Charlie Brown fans, “Block Head,” they’re liable to go to the Sanhedrin, the equivalent of our Supreme Court; or if they shout “You Fool,” they’re heading to fiery Gehenna… YES… That Gehenna… begging that same rational listener to say, “Well that’s kind of excessive. They didn’t even break the Law, and that sends them to hell?”
Jesus' implied answer could very well have been, “YES. Don't think that you are obeying the Law on murder just because you haven't killed. I am calling you to something that the law can't reach, the disposition of your heart. If you want to avoid violence, first deal with the anger in your heart. If you want to avoid adultery, commit your life to focusing your attention on the real people that you love, not the imaginary pictures that lure us all into thinking that life is better on the other end of the fantasy.”
Left unchallenged, those moments of anger, pettiness, lust and isolation just lead us to making really bad decisions with even worse outcomes … SO JESUS IS SAYING, FOR OUR OWN GOOD, DEAL WITH THINGS NOW!
Listen again to the solution offered us today! “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there, you 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.”
That could mean that TODAY is the day that you leave this place to go and make peace with your brother & sister. Today could be the day that you get back to loving those IN your life! Today is the day that we can know the Law for what it truly is… An opportunity to love and live in the true love of God, allowing that love to grow in our hearts… It allows us to form habits that make us naturally loving and ready to serve… Beginning today, let’s live lives of virtue! I know it sounds trite, but think of this call to holiness as an insurance policy or a retirement plan. What you protect now, and the discipline you live by in this present moment, makes for an amazing benefit in the future! In the spirit of the First Reading from Sirach, if we choose, we can keep the commandments, and they will save us; for if we trust in God, we shall live! Before us are life and death, good and evil, whichever we choose shall be given to us, so as Jesus said at the conclusion of this third part of the Sermon on the Mount, “let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,' and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’!
I think by now, you’ve learned that I’m not into over-complicating things, so I’m positive that our Lord is making a simple point today… Before things get out of hand, start dealing with your issues now, while they are still manageable! Anger and disagreement, misunderstandings and broken relationships, lust and misguided pride… It all leads to something bigger!
THE HEALING STARTS TODAY. IT ALL STARTS HERE, IN THE HEART, for as St. Paul reassures us in the Second Reading, we have been given a mysterious and hidden wisdom, revealed to us through the Holy Spirit, and this gift will help us to win those little battles within, before they turn into wars with something bigger!
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