20200216
THE
WISDOM OF THE LAW
16 February,
2020, Sunday, 6th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Ecclesiasticus 15:16-21 ©
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God predestined wisdom to be for our glory before the ages began
If
you wish, you can keep the commandments,
to
behave faithfully is within your power.
He
has set fire and water before you;
put
out your hand to whichever you prefer.
Man
has life and death before him;
whichever
a man likes better will be given him.
For
vast is the wisdom of the Lord;
he
is almighty and all-seeing.
His
eyes are on those who fear him,
he
notes every action of man.
He
never commanded anyone to be godless,
he
has given no one permission to sin.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 118(119):1-2,4-5,17-18,33-34 ©
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They
are happy who follow God’s law!
They
are happy whose life is blameless,
who
follow God’s law!
They
are happy who do his will,
seeking
him with all their hearts.
They
are happy who follow God’s law!
You
have laid down your precepts
to
be obeyed with care.
May
my footsteps be firm
to
obey your statutes.
They
are happy who follow God’s law!
Bless
your servant and I shall live
and
obey your word.
Open
my eyes that I may see
the
wonders of your law.
They
are happy who follow God’s law!
Teach
me the demands of your statutes
and
I will keep them to the end.
Train
me to observe your law,
to
keep it with my heart.
They
are happy who follow God’s law!
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians 2:6-10 ©
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God predestined wisdom to be for our glory before the ages began
We have a wisdom
to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is
true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The
hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God
predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none
of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified
the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and
no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for
those who love him.
These
are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the
Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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1S3:9,Jn6:68
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Speak,
Lord, your servant is listening:
you
have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Blessed
are you, Father,
Lord
of heaven and earth,
for
revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to
mere children.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:17-37 ©
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You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors; but I say this
to you
Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till
heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear
from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes
even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same
will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps
them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.
‘For
I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
‘You
have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You
must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the
court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer
for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for
it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for
it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there
remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there
before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come
back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time
while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over
to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.
I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.
‘You
have learnt how it was said: You
must not commit adultery. But
I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already
committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to
sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one
part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right
hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you
less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.
‘It
has also been said: Anyone who
divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who
divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress;
and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
‘Again,
you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not break your oath, but
must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But
I say this to you: do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God’s
throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since
that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your own head either, since
you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is “Yes” if you
mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil
one.’
THE WISDOM OF
THE LAW
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ecc 15:15-20; Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1 Cor 2:6-10; MT 5:17-37 (or ><
5:20-22.27-28.33-34.37) ]
Many of us think that
God is our joy killer.
He is like the heavenly policeman waiting to catch us breaking the law so that
He could punish us and send us to hell. Therefore, we have no peace and
freedom to do what we want because like little children, we are afraid of being
punished. So our conscience is always reprimanding us when we do things
are that against the law. So we obey the law; albeit reluctantly.
Hence the obedience we render to the law is external. This explains why
we end up being legalistic in the way we carry out the law of God. We
think that so long as we observe the letter of the law we are in the good books
of God and can escape punishment. At the same time, we find ways like the
Scribes and Pharisees to circumvent observance of the law by looking for
loopholes and offering how the law should be applied in concrete
practices. Still the burden of observing the law remains.
How, then, can we break
away from this fear of breaking the law? Like Adam and Eve, we want to
exercise our freedom to do what we like without God dictating what we can or
should not do. This
is the ultimate reason for those who reject the existence of God. They
want to control their own lives. Because of pride, they want to do
whatever they like. They want complete freedom like Adam and Eve, and
therefore like them, they rebel by putting God out of their lives. In
other words, the modern humanist says, “I can do all things by myself. I
don’t need any divine moral guardian or divine help. We are intelligent
enough.” But they forgot to ask where their life comes from, and their
intellect and free will. They fail to realize that they are contingent
beings. Without God, they will be nothing.
The truth is that we
fail to realize that the law of God is not so much written on tablets and
constitutions but in the human heart.
They are laws based on nature, the way God has created us. But above
nature, God has also given us the freedom to love and respond because we share
in His likeness and image. So the laws given to us are not against us but
are reflective and indicative of how we should live out our lives in such a way
that we do not disrupt the flow of nature. When we go against our nature,
we go against ourselves thereby destroying our happiness in life. Indeed,
this is what the Book of Sirach says. “If you wish, you can keep the
commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power. He has set fire
and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer. Man has life
and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him.” It
is up to us to choose because that freedom is given to us. But the
decision we make will cause us to be burnt or drowned to death if we do not
choose wisely. The choice is ours.
However, we must go
beyond the mere external observance of the law or the other extreme of
rejecting all laws.
Both extremes will not bring us happiness but disaster and evil. This was
what the Lord said to the people, “‘For, I tell you, if your virtue goes no
deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the
kingdom of heaven.” Even if we observe all the laws including the oral
interpretation of the Law of Moses, we will not find happiness because we obey
not out of love or conviction but slavishly. This makes us resentful of
God deep in our hearts for taking away our freedom and joy to do what we
like. Eventually, this resentment will lead us to disavow the existence
of God.
So it is important that
we understand the law of God given to us in perspective. More than just knowing the law of
God, what we need is to acquire the wisdom to understand the intention of the
law and how to apply it in the right spirit in concrete situations. This
is why we must go beyond the knowledge of the world to the wisdom of God. The
world only has knowledge but wisdom is more than knowledge. Wisdom is not
acquired through intellectual study and reasoning but through life experiences
and through divine inspiration. This was what St Paul wrote, “We have a wisdom
to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is
true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end.”
In the gospel, Jesus
demonstrates His wisdom in looking at the Law of Moses. He wants us to
fulfill the Law, not externally but with wisdom and understanding. Indeed, he made it clear, “Do not
imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to
abolish them but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth
disappear, not one dot, one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until
its purpose is achieved.”
He gave us three
examples, namely, anger, lust and swearing. Anger will lead to cursing
and name-calling. The
Lord said, “I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer
for it before the court; if a man calls his brother ‘Fool’ he will answer for
it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him ‘Renegade’ he will answer for
it in hell fire.” Why is anger tantamount to killing? This is
because the end result of anger is violence and killing if we do not manage it
well. Anger will not only kill our enemies, but it will kill us as
well. When we are angry with others, our blood pressure will rise.
We lose our peace of mind and the ability to rest well. This will affect
our performance in other activities. That is why the Lord taught us to
choose a better way, which is one of dialogue and mutual understanding.
“Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way
to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to
the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.”
Secondly, with regard to
lust and adultery,
Jesus said, “if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.” Sin is not just the doing but the
conceiving as well. Before a sin is committed in action, the thought must
first be born in the mind. So when we lust after a woman, it is but the
beginning of other actions to follow. A lustful thought will eventually
be expressed in lustful act. And there are serious consequences for those
of us who commit the sin of lust and adultery. Our whole life can be
destroyed when we contract aids, get our girl friend or mistress pregnant, or
when we are caught in the act of adultery. Our family will be
wrecked and even if we are not discovered we will live in fear of being exposed
and often we are blackmailed into paying ransom for the rest of our
lives. Or if we engage in criminal acts, like pedophilia, voyeurism, rape
and molestation, our lives will be completely destroyed. Hence, the Lord
rightly said, “If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw
it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your
whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of
you than to have your whole body go to hell.” Indeed, it is better
to lose a part of us than to lose our whole life to the sin of lust and its
tragic consequences on our lives, work, career and family.
Thirdly, with respect to
swearing, the Lord again makes it clear, “Do not swear at all. All you need say is ‘Yes’ if you
mean yes, ‘No’ if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil
one.” When we swear, we only show our lack of integrity. We must be
honest not just in some important events but we must be honest in whatever we
do. Integrity of life is not confined to some acts or decisions but it
must be our way of life so that we will find peace of mind and rest in our
souls. A person who starts taking oath and swearing shows that people do
not believe him and hence the need to ask him to swear. But, as the Lord
said, just because we swear does not necessarily mean we are speaking the truth
either, because we “cannot turn a single hair white or black.”
To find the wisdom of
God, we need to ask the Lord for His Spirit. This is what St Paul wrote. “It is a
wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not
have crucified the Lord of
Glory. These
are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the
Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.” Unless, we
have the mind and heart of Jesus, we will obey the laws slavishly or simply
break the laws by eliminating God from our lives. But if we see the law
as the Wisdom of God and in the light of His wisdom, we will see the wonders of
the law in finding happiness in life. Indeed, the responsorial psalm makes it
clear that happiness comes only when we follow God’s law. “They are happy
whose life is blameless, who follow God’s law! They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts. You have laid down your precepts to be
obeyed with care. Open my eyes that I may see the wonders of your law.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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