TEXT: The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 5:17-37 (LONG)

The Sermon on the Mount is one that Jesus, our Lord, preached over three chapters in the Gospel of St. Matthew.  It spans chapters 5, 6, and 7 of that Gospel.  It is full of meaning and Jesus says so much in it that we dare not ignore or simply gloss over its contents.  St. Irenaeus said -- "With God nothing is empty of meaning, nothing without symbolism."  We do well to remember that when we hear the words of Jesus.

Yet, every word of Jesus is loaded with the meaning for practical action in response to his words.  When we hear the words of Jesus, we are always called to become doers of the words, not hearers only.

We hear the words of God, and must give an answer to God’s call.  St. Francis de Sales said -- "It is sometimes necessary to speak to this mighty All, and be ready for our nothing to face an encounter with something."  Thus it is when we encounter God’s words through Holy Scriptures.  We encounter something infinitely greater than what the world system demands of us.  We encounter God’s call to holiness and a practical love for God and our brothers and sisters, yes, even of the whole world, for "God so loved the world. . ." (cf.. John 3:16-18).

So, with these words, we come to allow these words to visit our souls and see that they make a difference in how we respond after we hear them to become doers of them . . .

17  "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18  For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19  Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

For many years I understood these words falsely.  I understood these words to mean something different than their plain meaning.  The facts are clear!  Jesus says that the law and the prophets, the entire Old Testament, all of the preaching of righteousness, the (Hebrew -- "sedeqah,"), the righteousness of God will not pass away.

We are, therefore, not somehow exempted from what the law and the prophets spoke of, the "righteousness" the Torah (Law) and Neb’iyim (prophets) calls us to in Jesus.  If we read Luke’s Gospel, chapter 24 in detail, we see that Jesus speaks of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings or Psalms.  These three books of books comprise the whole of the Old Testament.  Jesus says in Luke 24 that all of these words spoken in the Old Testament, Jesus spoke himself, and that the words of the Old Testament speak of Jesus!

The same calling of God is toward all men and women.  God still calls us all to righteousness ("sedeqah"), and, this righteousness must exceed SELF-righteousness, that is, that which we so easily copy of the hypocritical.

Not one little "iota," a little Greek "I", nor one little Hebrew mark will pass from the Law and the Old Testament until all is accomplished.  Christ embodied the accomplishment.  We are the Body of Christ, and, until heaven and earth passes away and all thing become new, the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms (Writings) are here to instruct us in righteousness.

This is the first point Jesus makes for us.  Pope Paul VI wrote of the important in Dei Verbum.  What I have gleaned from his words is that we ought to be daily partaking of the Holy Scriptures in hearing, reading, study, memorization and meditation upon toward the goal of application to practical forms of righteousness toward all we encounter, because we have encountered the words of God.

Jesus continues --

21   "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25  Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; 26 truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

Here is an elevation of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings above just a minimal understanding.  There must be a transformation of the HEART of men and women before this makes any sense, and, Jesus is aware of this, as that Sacred Heart knows all men.

If we are angry -- this may lead to murder.  If we are angry, we are committing murder toward our brother or sister.  Strong words?  They come from the Mouth of the One who will Judge all mankind.  We dare not lift our hearts up in pride and think we know better than God.  Read the words.  Let the words take the razor sharp Sword and cut deeply into the pride.  Then, come and follow Jesus in prayers, fasts and gifts at the altar.

God says, "Be reconciled to your brother."  Only then do we come to the altar and offer our gifts.  If you fail to do this, passion will become stronger and stronger, and, the flames of warfare will strike and tragic results may become the reality.  How many have failed to offer up to God injustices and become victims of Cain’s wrath and punishment?

Remember what St. John Vianney said -- "When the heart is pure it cannot help loving, because it has discovered the source of Love which is God."

And, yes, St. Vincent de Paul said -- "Let us love God, but with the strength of our arms, in the sweat of our brow."  It take effort to drop the barriers to God’s love and love with the Love he gives us to love others and God with in the world.

Therefore, we are called to repent.

Then, there is another point --

27  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  29  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.  30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Here there is much to know and trust as true.

These days, we write this one off and think that God must have changed the rules, because we say, "God calls us to do the impossible."  Well, with God all things are possible, beloved.

WE are called to purpose in our heart to become pure in our thinking.  We are called to take radical measures to become pure in our hearts through the graces God has given to us.

The hyperbole here is -- It is better to pluck out your eye, than be thrown into hell; to cut off a hand than to be thrown into hell!  Jesus re-enforces the importance of true repentance from sin and turning to God and walking with Jesus in newness of life.  (II Cor. 5:17).

Then, there is more --

31   "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

This is not a man’s world after all.  Women are to be treated with fairness and love, because God treated his Mother with Perfect Love.

The whole of the teaching of the Church gives us much to think about here.  But, the simple words of Jesus are very pointed.  Divorce has become an epidemic of failure.  Yes, there is Mercy available to those who have failed in divorce and repented.

I will simply comment here that God is calling us to spiritual chastity, one that seeks reconciliation and the Way of Love.

We cannot be allowed to hop around from woman to woman like rabbits.

We are not breeding animals.

We are men created in the Image of God, and, by the Graces of God we had better act like it, because the judgment of God is coming!  We will be held accountable.  Jesus says so.  "I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."  The Judge has spoken.

We are called by God to seek reconciliation through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and do what the Church Jesus established upon St. Peter commands us to do.

Then, finally, we hear these words --

33  "Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35  or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

We make so many resolutions, beloved.  It is better never to make resolutions of any kind unless we follow through to complete the vows we have made before God.

St. Alphonsus Liguori said -- "He who desires nothing but God is rich and happy."

In God, when truly rich in God and happy in God, we have no need to swear over anything.  In Christ for those who love God fully, there is simply the YES of the heart committed to God, and the NO of the soul that hates sin and flees from it.

We own nothing.

All in on loan to us.  We are stewards of what we have in our possession.

With Mary, God calls us to make the decision of the Magnificat.

We are called in our nothingness to encounter the mighty All.  With Francis de Sales -- "It is sometimes necessary to speak to this mighty All, and be ready for our nothing to face an encounter with something."

Yet, perhaps, we must recognize our being "nothing," for God to make something of us?

He made the Woman, then, he made her the Mother of God, then, the Queen of Heaven.  Mary said -- "Yes" to God and "No" to Satan.

Perhaps, we should view Mary, our example, a learn better of our low estate that we become what God desires to make of us, if we willingly submit ourselves under the Hand of God.



Deus et Sanctissima.