Dig Deeper!

Catholic Liturgy for the 6^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 16, 2020. Gospel of St. Matthew 5:17-37. Theme: Dig Deeper

Today’s Gospel, which is Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, is very much a continuation and explanation of last Sunday’s Gospel about salt and light.  You might remember that Jesus called us to be salt of the earth. The main function of salt back in those days was to preserve things from being spoiled. We are called to be salt so as to keep the world from going bad. Jesus also called us to be light for the world so that his glory could shine through us and lead people from darkness into goodness.

The teaching we hear from him today is meant to show us precisely how to make all this happen.  It’s informing us as to how we can indeed become that salt and light. In order for this to happen, though, Jesus is reminding us that we must be transformed from the inside out. Our mission as salt and light all starts in the heart, in the mind, in the conscience. That’s where good or evil within us begins. The results that show up in our actions are simply the visible effects of what’s already been going on inside of us.

This is why he tells us at the beginning of his Sermon that our holiness must surpass that of the Jewish leaders, the scribes and Pharisees, if we hope to authentic witnesses to truth and goodness, if we want to truly become salt and light. You see, the definition of holiness of these Jewish religious leaders was based on external actions.  It was defined mostly as abstaining from any and all acts that were contrary to the commandments. What mattered to them was what a person did, how they observed and carried out God’s law, regardless of how they might have felt about it inside themselves. If from the outside, externally, it all looked good, then many patted themselves on the back and considered themselves righteous or holy.  This is the false understanding of holiness, of religious observance, that Jesus is talking about.

You know, we Catholics can easily slip to that very same attitude.  For example, I once had a friendly conversation with a relative of mine about going to confession.  It had been quite a long time since she had received that sacrament. She responded by saying that she had no need for confession and began listing her external moral accomplishments in light of the commandments, “I haven’t murdered anyone; I haven’t stolen anything; I haven’t seriously lied to anyone…” and so forth. Do you see the problem with this way of thinking? Notice how this attitude is the polar opposite of Jesus’ teaching in his Sermon on the Mount. It is nothing other than a modern expression of the false morality of the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus calls us to a much more authentic and mature morality that are based on God’s commandments but go deeper into what they mean. Our examination of conscience isn’t to be satisfied if we have merely avoided the big obvious sins. We need to embrace the spirit of the law and not be content with simply obeying by the letter of the law.

For example, Jesus calls us to not be satisfied just because we are not murderers, but to dig deeper and see if we have any heartfelt anger and bitter resentments towards someone.  And if we discover that we do he tells us begin the steps to peace and reconciliation.

He calls us to not be satisfied just because we are not gossips or liars, but to dig deeper and see if we are using the gift of speech to build people up or to tear them down.  And if we find that we tend to denigrate others, then we should look inside ourselves and see what needs to be changed by the grace of God.

He calls us to not be satisfied that we are not adulterers, but to dig deeper and see if we have a tendency to view others as objects of lustful desire.  And if we discover that we are indeed doing this, he calls us to take up a new way of relating to people that respects and values their human dignity.

Perhaps something should be said here about some strange words Jesus uses to get across the importance of his teaching.  Towards the beginning, we hear a Hebrew word “raqa” which in English means something close to “idiot” or “imbecile”.  In other words, Jesus is telling us that publicly insulting or humiliating someone is a form of personal destruction, of killing their spirit or reputation. Further on, he says that we should be willing to get rid of anything – even body parts – for the sake of avoiding Hell and reaching Heaven!  There have actually been a few figures in Christian history who took those words literally! But Jesus is using exaggerated speech to drive home his point that inner conversion, holiness that starts in the heart, is of utmost importance if we wish to become the persons God created us to be.

With Ash Wednesday soon upon us, I would suggest today’s Gospel as something each one of us should take up and read bit by bit during Lent.  Reflecting on these teachings of Christ can motivate us to a deeper conversion of heart and life, a deeper acceptance of his Word, a deeper friendship with him.  It is where the rubber meets the road for our Christian journey through life. It is like our moral GPS that directs us along the various paths and choices we face as we strive to successfully follow Christ who is the way to true inner happiness in this life and to eternal happiness in the next.