Let's begin today by talking about the Gospel of Matthew. This is
the gospel that we will hear proclaimed the most this liturgical year.
Matthew's gospel was written primarily for Christians who had first been Jews.
These were Christians who were grounded in the scripture and traditions of the
ancient Hebrews. The gospel also addressed Jews who were considering becoming
Christians as well as all who wanted to learn more about this New Way, as our
faith was first called[1].
Matthew's Gospel is structured with numerous references to
the Torah, the most important part of
the Hebrew Scripture. We know the Torah
as the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers and Deuteronomy. In the Gospel of Matthew there are five main talks or
discourses of the Lord modeled on the five books of the Law or the Torah. The
first main discourse of the Law is the one we call the Sermon on the Mount. Just as Moses went up Mount Sinai to bring
the Ten Commandments, God's Law to the people, Jesus climbs the mountain of the
Beatitudes to present the New Law to the people.
With this in mind we can understand Jesus' opening remarks
in today's gospel: I came not to abolish
the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. In the eyes of the Lord the
Hebrew Scripture are not only valid; they hold a place of greater reverence
than ever before. But merely trying to keep the precepts of the ancient law was
not enough. Jesus said something
that was absolutely shocking. He said that the holiness of the people had to
surpass that of the scribes and the Pharisees. Now how could anyone be holier
than the Pharisees? They dressed wearing numerous images of their
religion--including phylacteries, or miniature lists of the Ten Commandments
hung from their headbands so whenever they turned their head they would perform
one of the laws that said: keep these commandments always before your eyes.
They fasted. They said loud prayers for all to hear. But Jesus said that his followers had to be holier than
these holy Pharisees. So, how could that be possible? Well, Jesus explained, our external actions must be a reflection
of what we really are like. It is not enough for others to see us
performing the actions of Christians; our
whole attitude in life must be Christian.
One of the ways we can do this is by asking ourselves why we
do the things that we do. For example, why do we share our possessions with
others? We do this because people are infinitely more important than stuff. Or,
why do we strive to develop our minds, whether we are in school or are long out
of school? We do this because we have been given our gifts for others. Or why
are we here in Church? We are here because we as individuals and as a community
belong to God and He to us. We need to have this intimate union with Him as a
community and as individuals in Scripture and the Eucharist.
It is not in the action itself but it is in the motivation
behind the action where the Christian's true identity is found and formed. And
that identity is the identity of Jesus Christ. We are called to take upon
ourselves the very identity of Jesus Christ. We are called to be selfless
givers. We are called to be eternal lovers of the Father. We are called to rejoice in His
presence in our families. We are not called to be minimalists in the faith. We
are called to develop the facility of finding meaning in the laws that God gave
us so that our external actions might truly be a reflection of our internal
attitudes.
So, is it easier to be a modern Christian than an ancient
Jew? Absolutely not! Christianity
is very demanding upon us all because it calls us to be 100% committed to
living in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we
make efforts to be wholesome, sincere, than our holiness, yours and mine will
surpass even that of the scribes and Pharisees. Tall order. Absolutely. And
that is why we are here today. We are here to ask God to give us the grace to
follow His Son with our whole heart, mind and soul! ■
[1]
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), February 16, 2014. Readings: Sirach 15:15-20;
Responsorial Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37.
