Sir 15:15-20
Ps 119 1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
1 Cor 2:6-10
Mt 5:17-37
Free will. Choice. Options.
Past. Present. Future.
Decision. Action. Result.
Fear. Love. Consequences.
These are some of the layers in today's readings that can be meditated upon without exhausting the possibilities. And they can make us uncomfortable as we consider what they mean for us.
Choice is the great gift of human free will. It is also its greatest challenge to being human. The ability to choose among options, to understand the reasons for that choice, and how that choice will affect us in the future, sets us apart from every lower animal. Only humans have free will. Only humans are free to make choices. Only humans can take into account the past, present, and future when faced with a choice. Lower animals function on instinct. They are driven by a combination of instinct, memory traces of past experience, and immediate need. But they can never know the long range effect of a choice.
The human brain is much more powerful than that of any animal. Only humans can use memories and knowledge accrued in the past, to make decisions in the present, while having some idea of the future consequences of those decisions. Animals do not possess that ability. They never will.
We heard in Sirach "If you choose you can keep the commandments . . . " That is a strong statement that places a burden on us. "IF you choose
you can keep the commandments" implies, 'if you choose you can violate the commandments.' Free will allows us to choose to sin. It allows us to choose death. It allows us to choose evil. Free will allows us to reject God.
"The eyes of God are on those who fear Him."
Fear of God. Fear of the Lord. In English the word 'fear' is a problem in this context. It sets off an automatic train of thought that includes anxiety, terror, panic, punishment, pain, and physical sensations, such as rapid heart beat and sweaty palms. But fear has other functions in our lives.
Fear is a critical part of love. Without fear there can be no love. The meaning of fear in the context of love is different. It is a reverential fear. It is a fear that moves a person to seek and follow God's will not to avoid punishment but because of love for Him.
How often has fear of hurting someone we loved kept us from sin? How often have we chosen the good instead of evil, because we did not want to disappoint someone who loved us? Think parent, spouse, long time friend, or mentor? How often have we chosen not to sin because we feared violating another's trust or breaking someone's heart? That is reverential fear. It is not fear because of punishment, hellfire and gnashing of teeth. It is fear of offending or hurting someone who loves us. It is fear of sinning against the One who loves us.
Today's Gospel continues the Sermon on the Mount. Unlike the comforting promises in the beatitudes we hear some hard truths. The poor, those who mourn, the peacemakers, the meek, those who were declared blessed in the beatitudes, are now given instruction in what it means to follow Jesus.
The blessed are reminded that even if poor or mourning they have responsibilities. Sin is not mitigated because of poverty. Sin is not excused
because one is powerless. Jesus is telling his hearers that there are no actions without consequences. The only difference between the sins of the poor and oppressed compared to those of the wealthy and powerful is the matter of budget and status.
Nothing we do occurs in a vacuum. Every action has an effect. Every time we choose for something we choose against other things. Every time we choose a course of action we close other courses of action.
“Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.”
In the U.S. the law suit is as close to a weapon of mass destruction as any nuclear warhead. The situation has reached a point of absurdity. Over 70% of medical malpractice lawsuits are dropped or dismissed without a hearing or settlement on the basis of being frivolous. “I’m gonna sue” could easily replace “In Pluribus Unum” on American currency. This begs the question of why calling one’s brother, or anyone else, a fool deserves the fires of Gehenna? Why is anger so strongly decried in this Gospel?
It is decried because just as it is easier to settle a case out of court than to go to trial, it is easier to stop anger when it is a thought than it is to interrupt a murderous impulse as one’s hands are around the other’s neck. It is easier not to commit adultery when not in a hotel room or a parked car with someone other than a spouse. It is easier for an alcoholic not to drink when he or she does not enter a bar or hold a cold one on a hot day.
Jesus is telling us to be alert to the first signs of temptation if we wish to avoid sin. There IS a point of no return when we choose evil over good, when we choose death over life or when we choose to follow the Evil King rather than Jesus, the Good King
The Psalms were written centuries before the beatitudes. We just heard a beatitude from Psalm 119: "Blessed are they who observe the Lord's decrees, who seek him with all their heart."
Thus we pray with another verse of the same psalm: "Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart."
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Photos are from Lyon, France, a most beautiful place. I prefer Lyon to Paris by miles. The pics are from the Church of St. Georges which has an indult to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass exclusively. It was a short distance across a footbridge to the church. I went there often in part because of my schedule.
As a public service. No meat on Ash Wednesday which is in three days or on Fridays during lent.
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| Rose window at the back of the Cathedral. |
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| One of the candle stands in the cathedral |
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| Candles at St. Georges |
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| Stained glass overlooking the altar at St. Georges. |
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| The crucifix overlooking the altar. I have not seen so much yellow stained glass. The light was very warm. |
Fr. Jack, SJ,MD
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