Homily for 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014
Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37
Introduction
The development of the typewriter into the
computer is a great example of the old being fulfilled in the new. But before I go on to explain their
similarities, let me first explain to those who were born in the 90s and after,
what a typewriter is.
It was this heavy clunky machine used to
type letters and other documents. The
older typewriters did not use electricity, so you had to strike those keys
hard, if you wanted your work to be legible.
Moreover, if you made a mistake, you had to go back and cover the
mistake with liquid paper and type over again.
Also, just to be clear, the type-writer did not do email, internet,
facebook or twitter.
Today, we use computers to do everything
the type-writer did and more. Perhaps
the only similarity between the two machines is the keyboard, which has
essentially remained the same. For
example, I learned how to touch type on a typewriter in the early ‘90s, a skill
that has continued to serve me well when I use a computer today. But clearly the computer is superior machine,
which has taken what is good in the typewriter and improved it by leaps and
bounds.
Scripture and Theology
In
today’s readings, Jesus says: “Do not
think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” Like the computer does not abolish but
fulfils the functions of the typewriter, Jesus has come to improve and bring to
fulfilment what God had revealed to his people in the Law and the Prophets. He assures his followers that “until heaven and earth pass away,” that
is, until the end of the world as we know it, “not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from
the law.” In other words, the law
will not be destroyed but will continue to be improved to serve God’s work.
And so,
Jesus provides a model for preserving the old in the new and building the new
upon the old. He gives a few concrete examples
of these developments such as the commandments forbidding killing, adultery,
divorce and false oaths.
The
fifth commandment says: “You shall not
kill.” But Jesus takes this law
against physical killing to a higher level. For him “whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment . . . and
whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” And so, for Jesus, killing goes beyond the
physical to include our thoughts and words of anger.
The
same applies to the 6th commandment which said: “You shall not commit adultery.” For Jesus,
however, “everyone who looks at a woman
with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Once again he goes beyond the physical to the
thoughts and words that come before the physical sin.
In both
the case of killing and adultery, the thoughts and words often lead to sin.
·
For example, how often on today’s streets people are killed over a
silly argument; how often anger divides families and friends forever.
·
Even with adultery; thoughts of lust and flirtatious words, sometimes
quite innocent at first, will lead to pre-marital and extra-marital relations.
And
before these thoughts and words are sinful or are the cause of sin, let us nip
them in the bud. In the case of anger,
he suggests that people who are angry with each other should settle the matter
peacefully before going to the court. And
as for thoughts of lust, he uses of the image of cutting off the offending
limb; for it is better to lose a limb than the whole body. In other words it is better perhaps to cut
out those sources of lust, such as the internet, television and movies, than
set oneself on the road to sinning in this way.
And so,
following the lead of Jesus, at the beginning of Mass we confess not only “what I have done and what I have failed to
do,” but we also confess those sins of our thoughts and words. For without abolishing the Ten Commandments
Jesus has set a much higher bar of morality for Christians. He has taken the old commandments and improved
them, by giving them new meanings and even expanding them to apply to new
situations, so that we can grow deeper in our relationship with God. What Jesus has done is similar to the
computer, which takes on all the functions of the old typewriter and adds more,
making those work and life more effective.
Christian Life
How do we deal with the old and the new in
our lives? There are two extremes. Like the Pharisees, we might be tempted to
reject the new and keep only the old. On
the other hand we might be tempted to reject everything old and keep only the
new. Jesus avoids both extremes by
preserving old values in new ways.
As a Church, for example, we have certainly
grown in the past two thousand years. The
Holy Spirit has helped us preserve the old tradition in new ways.
·
While we still value preserving
and preaching the faith, we no longer force it down people’s throats via
crusades and inquisitions.
·
While we still value obedience
to legitimate authorities, we no longer teach that slavery or capital
punishment is acceptable.
·
While we still celebrate the
Lord’s Supper as he commanded us, we do it a little differently than the Church
of the fifth century, the tenth century and the fifteenth century. Some of you remember when the Mass was all in
Latin, without much Scripture and hardly involving the congregation.
But the most important change we have to
deal with is in our own personal lives. If we believe in what Jesus has to
teach us in today’s gospel, we should also believe that personal growth and
conversion is possible, both for ourselves and for others. We should continue to listen to God’s voice
every day and hear what he wants us to change and improve in our lives.
·
Perhaps when we were younger, although
our priorities were well-intentioned, they were also mistaken. Perhaps we hung with the wrong crowd, engaged
in questionable and immoral activities and did not pray. Perhaps our attitude to others, to the poor,
to other races, reflecting the customs of the time needs to catch up with the
message of the gospel.
·
Hope is not all lost. We can change, we can improve, we can
grow. We can raise our game, like Jesus
does to the Law and Prophets, and add that to our Christian way of life,
improving and fulfilling our previous way of life.
Conclusion
Jesus
wants us to go beyond the comforts of the law, which draws clear boundaries of
what we should or should not do. Merely
following the law is easy; but Jesus never claims to make our lives easy. He calls us to a challenging way of life
where what matters most of all is not the law, but friendship with God. Friendship is not built on the narrow
boundaries of the law which is fixed; friendship is built on love which keeps
growing and growing and exploring new ways of loving.
Like we
have taken the typewriter and developed it into a desktop, laptop, netbook,
tablet computer, smartphone and only God knows what else we shall come up with,
let us also take the laws of God and the Church and expand them into all kinds
of good works and possibilities, for the glory of God and for his people. Jesus is calling us to love God and our
neighbour in all ways: in my thoughts, in my words, in what I do and in what I
refrain from doing.
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