Catechism Links[1]
CCC 577-582: Jesus and the Law
CCC 1961-1964 The old Law
CCC 2064-2068: The Decalogue in the tradition of the Church
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| “Allegory of Wisdom” by Orazio Samacchini, ca. 1560’s |
Reading 1: Sirach 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.
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Commentary on Sir 15:15-20
The son of Sirach emphasizes the gift of “free will” in the creation of mankind. “If you choose […] you shall live.” God has given each person choices, good and bad, and does not withhold either. Even though he is all-powerful, he does not require a person to choose only the good. Likewise he does not influence a person to act unjustly and his moral law is applied equally to all (“to none does he give license to sin”).
"But, along with free will, the Lord also gave man the commandments (v. 15). The Law of God does not coerce human freedom, because it does not restrain man’s ability to choose, but it does show him how to make best use of his free will. The commandments of the Lord protect true freedom. John Paul II spells this out 'Man’s ‘genuine moral autonomy’ in no way means the rejection but rather the acceptance of the moral law, of God’s command: ‘The Lord God gave this command to the man ... ‘ (Genesis 2:16). ‘Human freedom and God’s law meet and are called to intersect’, in the sense of man’s free obedience to God and of God’s completely gratuitous benevolence towards man” ('Veritatis splendor', 41)." [5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
R. (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!
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Commentary on Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem. Each of the eight verses of the first strophe begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph). Each verse of the second strophe begins with the second letter (beth), and so on for all 22 letters of the alphabet.
The entire work is in praise of the Law, and the joys to be found in keeping it. It is not "legalism," but a love and desire for the word of God in Israel's Law, which is the expression of the Lord's revelation of himself and his will for man.
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Reading 2: 1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Brothers and sisters:
We speak a wisdom to those who are mature,
not a 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.
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Commentary on 1 Cor 2:6-10
In this passage the Apostle qualifies his earlier statement (“I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom” 1 Corinthians 2:1). Here he speaks of a wisdom of a higher plane, not as the Greeks characterized wisdom. This wisdom comes from God through his Son, revealed only in him. It was hidden from the rulers of his age (the chief priests and Roman prefect) or they would never have crucified Jesus.
Concluding, St. Paul paraphrases Isaiah 64:4. “Isaiah marvels that no one has ever seen or heard a God like Yahweh, who is always faithful to deliver those who hope in him. The final words of this quotation are not from Isaiah but seemingly from Sirach 1:10, where God’s unsearchable wisdom is a gift promised to those who love him. Paul draws Isaiah and Sirach together to stress that what God has long prepared in secret he has now made known to the world through the spirit (CCC 1027).” [6]
CCC: 1 Cor 2:7-16 221; 1 Cor 2:7-9 1998; 1 Cor 2:8 446, 498, 598; 1 Cor 2:9 1027; 1 Cor 2:10-15 2038; 1 Cor 2:10-11 152
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Gospel: Matthew 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 brother
will be liable to judgment;
and whoever says to 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
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.”
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Commentary on Mt 5:17-37
In this early encounter between Jesus’ mission and the Law of Moses, we are told that Jesus came to “fulfill” the law, to bring it to perfection as the messiah. He supports the rabbinical teaching of the time, which separates the 613 individual precepts of the law found in the Pentateuch into “great and small,” based upon their seriousness, when he refers to breaking the least of the commandments. The passage is continued in almost Mosaic style by saying that those who follow the law will be great in heaven. This draws a distinction from those who would break the law being least in heaven.
Those who believed that Jesus came to destroy the Jewish faith and laws are refuted. The Lord tells them that he did not come to destroy the law, even though he disagreed with the way some of those laws were being implemented. Rather he came to fulfill it, essentially to give the law a reinterpretation through his own revelation.
Verses 20-26 give the first of six examples in St. Matthew’s Gospel of conduct demanded of the Christian disciple. The first three take a commandment of Mosaic Law and deepen the meaning. Here the Lord takes “You shall not kill” (quoted from Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17) to a new level. He tells us that even anger brings a judgment from God. He traces the logic from thought of vulgar or abusive words to violent action. In this translation, the Greek word "raqa" is used to indicate deep insult. "Where the Jewish Law forbids the action, Christian law forbids the antecedents as well. The passage continues with the remedy for this action and a foundation for the sacrament of reconciliation. He instructs us to be reconciled with a person with whom we have bad feelings before coming to the altar. The consequences of failing to do so, he warns, are judgment and punishment.
In verses 27-32 “The Old Testament commandment that a bill of divorce be given to the woman assumes the legitimacy of divorce itself. It is this that Jesus denies. (Unless the marriage is unlawful): this "exceptive clause," as it is often called, occurs also in Matthew 19:9, where the Greek is slightly different. There are other sayings of Jesus about divorce that prohibit it absolutely (see Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18; cf 1 Cor 7:10, 11b), and most scholars agree that they represent the stand of Jesus. Matthew's "exceptive clauses" are understood by some as a modification of the absolute prohibition. It seems, however, that the unlawfulness that Matthew gives as a reason why a marriage must be broken refers to a situation peculiar to his community: the violation of Mosaic Law forbidding marriage between persons of certain blood and/or legal relationship (Lev 18:6-18). Marriages of that sort were regarded as incest (porneia), but some rabbis allowed Gentile converts to Judaism who had contracted such marriages to remain in them. Matthew's "exceptive clause" is against such permissiveness for Gentile converts to Christianity; cf the similar prohibition of porneia in Acts 15:20, 29. In this interpretation, the clause constitutes no exception to the absolute prohibition of divorce when the marriage is lawful.”[7]
Concluding in verses 33-37, Jesus paraphrases the Old Testament (see Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11; Leviticus 19:12). He is attacking the practices of guaranteeing one’s promise by calling on God to witness the pledge. The Lord tells his disciples that no oaths should be made, that what they say should need no guarantee beyond their own character (“Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one”). This last reference speaks of the implied sinfulness of mankind in oath-breaking.
CCC: Mt 5:17-19 577, 592, 1967; Mt 5:17 2053; Mt 5:20 2054; Mt 5:21-22 2054, 2257; Mt 5:21 2262, 2302; Mt 5:22-39 2262; Mt 5:22 678, 1034, 2302; Mt 5:23-24 2608, 2792, 2841, 2845; Mt 5:24 1424; Mt 5:27-28 2330, 2336, 2380; Mt 5:28 1456, 2513, 2528; Mt 5:29-30 226; Mt 5:29 1034; Mt 5:31-32 2382; Mt 5:32 2380; Mt 5:33-34 581, 2141, 2153; Mt 5:33 592, 2463; Mt 5:37 2153, 2338, 2466
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OR
Shorter Form: Matthew 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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 brother
will be liable to judgment.
“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.
“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.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the evil one.”
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Commentary on Mt 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37
This shorter form contracts the Gospel message to emphasize only the instructions of the Lord, not the supporting emphasis. In an unvarnished way, we are told we must be holier than the Pharisees, who held to the letter of the Law of Moses, but were blind to the spirit. We must go beyond the most egregious violations of the law (e.g. “Thou shall not kill”) and adjust our attitudes to the love Christ exemplifies. Similarly, with the law against adultery, the goal must be toward inner purity of thought. And finally, truth and sincerity must always be demonstrated by the faithful Christian follower.
"In comparing the justice of the Pharisees to his own, Jesus is contrasting the actual circle of the willing listeners who surround him to those others who are encapsulated within their own idea of religious observance. The Pharisees keep the Law without understanding the end of the Law. Jesus' disciples are to imitate him by becoming living Law, in imitation of himself. How moving, and yet terrible, is Jesus' use throughout this passage of the second person plural: 'You here who are listening to me: now you have no excuse for saying you did not know. My word has addressed you personally. You have been awakened! You have been admitted to my secrets. There is no going back.'" [8]
CCC: Mt 5:20 2054; Mt 5:21-22 2054, 2257; Mt 5:21 2262, 2302; Mt 5:22-39 2262; Mt 5:22 678, 1034, 2302; Mt 5:27-28 2330, 2336, 2380; Mt 5:28 1456, 2513, 2528; Mt 5:33-34 581, 2141, 2153; Mt 5:33 592, 2463; Mt 5:37 2153, 2338, 2466
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Homily:
We pause to consider the lessons to be learned from the selections of sacred scripture just proclaimed, and how the principal lesson taught in the Gospel has been applied by the Church in its Code of Canon Law. Most secular lawyers would find the way Canon Law is applied flies in the face of logic. Unlike secular law (civil and constitutional), the application of Canon Law is not affected by precedent, or decisions made by the Church about similar situations. Each application of Canon Law is interpreted on its own merits and in the light of the love Christ has for all of his people. The primary reason for this method of interpreting Canon Law is stated in the last of them (Canon 1752) “keeping in mind the salvation of souls, which in the Church must always be the supreme law.”
The text of the reading from Sirach makes it clear that each of us was created with free will. That is, we are in no way “required” to choose God, nor are we required to choose to keep God’s laws. Each of us is offered the choice between accepting what God offers or declining. This understanding is an early indication that we are not slaves of God, we are indeed created in his “divine image” (Genesis 1:26-27). We know further from Sirach that, though God did not create things for evil purposes, choices people make nonetheless exist, and are not forcefully prohibited by the Lord. That is, we may choose evil over good, death over life.
It is because of this great offer of freedom that the Law, the Prophets, and the Messiah have been given to us. How would we know good from evil had not the Law been offered through Moses (see Romans 5:12-13)? How could we understand how the Law was to be applied without the Prophets, who also pointed to the ultimate expression of the Law in Christ Jesus? And finally, the entirety of the Law and Prophets, all of the wisdom provided through man’s thought, codified in ancient scripture, is reinterpreted in Christ, who comes at last to reveal God’s will in his very presence.
The Gospel of St. Matthew shows us most clearly how God’s will is expressed in Christ. He tells us that our goal is not to be like that of the pharisaic legalists who believed that by simply observing the letter of Mosaic Law scrupulously they would achieve salvation. No, rather we must strive for interior holiness, a purity of mind and emotion that conforms itself to the mind of Jesus himself. That is the bar the Lord sets for the faithful Christian.
He tells his followers that they must go beyond the letter of the law, and seek the spirit of God’s law. It is God’s will that we should be like his Son, Jesus, in all things. When we ask ourselves the cliché question: “What would Jesus do,” we must go further. We must ask, “How would Jesus love?” All our motives must start with that question. Only in that way can we be the light and salt for the world he calls us to be.
I leave you with the words of a great scripture scholar, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, formerly head of the Theology Department at Emory University now Father Simeon, a Trappist priest at St. Joseph’s Abby in Spencer, Massachusetts: "In comparing the justice of the Pharisees to his own, Jesus is contrasting the actual circle of the willing listeners who surround him to those others who are encapsulated within their own idea of religious observance. The Pharisees keep the Law without understanding the end of the Law. Jesus' disciples are to imitate him by becoming living Law, in imitation of himself. How moving, and yet terrible, is Jesus' use throughout this passage of the second person plural: 'You here who are listening to me: now you have no excuse for saying you did not know. My word has addressed you personally. You have been awakened! You have been admitted to my secrets. There is no going back.'"
Today we see Christ’s wisdom overshadow the wisdom of the wise, as St. Paul says. He bids us to be like him in loving all those we meet, and to act upon those impulses. In this way we use God’s gift of free will as he would like us to, and will come at last to the reward he promised.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Allegory of Wisdom” by Orazio Samacchini, ca. 1560’s.
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Wisdom Books,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp. 435-36.
[6] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 287.
[7] NAB Footnote on Matthew 5:27ff.
[8] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I. Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 217.
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