O T VI [A]: Sir 15:15-20, I Cor 2:6-10, Mt 5:17-37

Two great men were born in the year 1564 A.D. One was Shakespeare, who lived to the age of fifty-two and became the greatest dramatist of the English language. The other, Christopher Marlow, perished midway in his life at the age of twenty-nine, because of his anger. Christopher wrote some of the best tragical plays at a very young age. One of his best plays is The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus. Had he lived longer he probably would have become greater than Shakespeare. He was a man given to anger. He picked up a quarrel with a man in a tavern. That man challenged him to a sword fight unto death. They both fought and Christopher was mortally wounded and later succumbed to his injuries. A great promise was terminated because of anger. In the gospel reading today Jesus equates anger with physical murder. Whoever is angry with brother will be liable to judgment just the way a murderer will be.  We have to control our anger because it is the rawest, strongest and most destructive of human emotions.

The first reading, from Sirach, contains the clearest statement in the Old Testament concerning the God-given freedom of the human will and exonerating God from all responsibility for evil in the world. “If you choose, you can keep the commandments . . . before you, are life and death, whichever you choose shall be given you.” 

For the Israelites, the Torah was not a set of laws, but the instructions or teachings intended to promote the holiness and wholeness of each believer. It was the revealed will of a caring God for His Chosen People, those with whom He had made His covenant.

In today’s Gospel, while challenging his disciples to live a life of justice and righteousness which would exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus sets forth his own position with regard to the Law given through Moses by providing a new interpretation and meaning for the old laws. He says that he did not come to destroy the Torah but to bring it to perfection by bringing out its inner meaning, because Jesus Himself is the ultimate Self-revelation of God, the Lawgiver. Jesus also explains the real meaning of three Mosaic laws concerning murder, adultery and false oaths.

The world judges a man from his deeds. But Jesus judges a man from his thoughts. Jesus taught that thoughts are as important as deeds. By Jesus’ standards a man is not a good man until he never even desires to do a forbidden thing.

Jesus is very practical about what can corrupt our hearts. He identifies anger, lust, and dishonesty as hidden viruses capable of damaging, and even destroying our integrity, our very souls. But if we are honest with ourselves, all of us will have to admit that we struggle with temptation in each of these areas.

So what are we to do? Are we simply doomed? No.

Jesus comes with the medicine of his grace to cure us. Jesus looks to the heart, not just to appearances; he knows our deepest motivations and desires. We just have to give him the chance.

Later in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 15:18), Jesus explains that, "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man."

If we want to know the true condition of our hearts, of our friendship with Christ, all we have to do is reflect seriously about our words and the quality of our conversations. For a true, faithful citizen of Christ's Kingdom, the attitudes and desires of the heart must also be in harmony with God's plan for our lives. When we speak, are we usually building others up, or tearing them down? Do we engage in crude and degrading humor? Do we join in gossip sessions and unnecessarily spread criticisms or even lies?

Do we use our words to encourage, enlighten, and edify, or are we constantly nagging, nitpicking, and belittling?

The fuller our hearts are with God and the experience of his love, the more our words will reflect his mercy, goodness, and his wisdom.

The standard Jesus demands from us is not only our deeds but also our thoughts should be pure. So Jesus forbids forever the anger which broods, the anger which will not forget, the anger which refuses to be pacified, the anger which seeks revenge. When selfish anger boils up in our hearts, we don't have to let it rule our lives - we can turn to Christ on the cross and learn from him how to turn the other cheek.

When a lustful thought flashes through our minds, we don't have to accept it - we can reject it and turn to Jesus and Mary instead.

When we are tempted to get ahead by compromising the truth, we can hold our tongues and cling to Sirach's promise:  "Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him."

Jesus wants us to choose life, a fulfilling life here on earth and eternal life with him in Heaven, by choosing to reject temptation and follow him.

As we continue with this Mass, in which Jesus will give us, yet again, undeniable evidence of his unconditional love for each one of us, let's ask for the grace we need to make the right choices every day, thereby deepening our virtues rather than just externally comply with the laws like the Scribes and the Pharisees.