Homily for 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time - 12th February 2023

Homily for 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time

12th February 2023

In the long version of today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that he has not come to abolish the Law given in the Old Testament but to bring it to fruition. To make it complete. So even for Christians the ten commandments, given the Moses, still stand. However, it is not simply a case of following the Law to the letter that is important because we can still outwardly follow the Law but inside, within our hearts, still can be breaking it. The example commandments given include not killing, not committing adultery, not divorcing, and not breaking an oath.

In the first example, though we may not have killed, we could still harm another by being angry, so are encouraged to make up with the one we are angry with before going to celebrate Mass. The anger within us can effectively burn our hearts and destroy us, causing us to sin through the actions we take. So it is better to release the pain caused by the anger and address the situation with the person who brought it upon us.

We may have misinterpreted what was being said or done because again we did not have the full picture and jumped to conclusions resulting in us getting fired up. It is always better to resolve the issue before things go too far. Many Bible stories start with a very simple action, a misunderstanding, that ends up leading to whole nations fighting against one another, causing the death of thousands of people.

Our world is no different. A small number of people get annoyed with a relative who happens to be the leader of another country and massive conflicts erupt. Think of World War One. Many of the monarchs were related and tensions in the Balkan countries for years leading up to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand became an excuse for rivalling factions to destabilise all of Europe into a Great War.

The second example is about committing adultery. Jesus tells us that even looking at a woman or man in a lustful way is enough to have sinned in this way within our hearts. In the Book of Judges, a Levite’s wife becomes angry with him and goes to her father’s house in Bethlehem. The Levite went to visit her father to reason with his wife to come back. While there, the wife’s father delayed their return home for several days and when they did leave, it was quite late. These were dangerous times. The couple sort refuge in a Benjaminite town called Gibeah and was hospitality by an old man. Though he tried to protect them, the Levite’s wife was abused and killed by some men from the town. This led to a war between the whole of Israel seeking revenge against the tribe of Benjamin for the death of the Levite’s wife. Tens of thousands of men died on both sides before Israel won against the Benjaminite people.

Again, this story highlights how a simple rift between husband and wife led to a lustful mob killing one person and bringing about the deaths of tens of thousands more. Small things lead to big consequences.

The third example relates to divorce, where Jesus tells us that the divorced person becomes an adulterer if they were to marry again. In many ways, this connects to the fourth example about not breaking an oath, because it is a promise being made to God. In the case of marriage, we are told in Genesis when a person leaves their parents, they join with their spouse to become one body. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew, what God has united, man must not divide.

This may seem harsh today when we see so many marriages falling apart often because of the anger that has entered one partner’s heart that leads to destruction and much pain to the injured party. Effectively, killing the marriage, which is what the commandment, “not to kill” is warning us against.

The fourth example is about not breaking your oath, Jesus is telling us not to swear, not to make a promise. Don’t swear on your granny's grave, or in God’s holy name. He just wants us to be honest and truthful. When we mean yes, say “yes”. When we mean no, say “no”. Keep it simple, otherwise, you are being influenced by the evil one.

By saying yes or no we are keeping things simple, and this truth comes from the heart. What is revealed through the Spirit comes from the depths of our being, straight from God. We can say Yes or No. Ecclesiasticus says if we wish, we can keep the commandments to behave faithfully. God sets fire and water before us and we can say our preference, yes or no. We can choose life or death, we can say yes to one and no to the other, and God will honour our choice. God sees all our actions. If we choose him we will be saying Yes to life. He doesn’t want us to sin, he does not permit this, but if we say yes to sin, he knows this will lead to death.

Time and time again, God will give us the opportunity to choose, to say yes to him, because he does not want to lose anyone of us. He is prepared to teach us his ways, and by doing so we will be happy, if we wish to do so. What do you choose?