SCRIPTURE FOR EVERYDAY LIFE
                           6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

FIRST READING: SIRACH 15:15-20 

     There is no getting around the message of this first reading.  When we sin or do something wrong, it is our choice.  We have no one to blame but ourselves; we are responsible for our own actions.  God is not to blame for the wrong choices we make, nor does he lead us into temptation.  By knowing and keeping God's commandments, we will be better equipped to make right decisions and we will also be able to have a closer relationship with our Lord.  We must pray each day for the strength to make right choices.
 The Book of Sirach is one of the Wisdom books of the Old Testament, written 180 years before the birth of Christ.  It was written by Joshua ben Eleazer ben Sirach so that his fellow Jews, who were living in Egypt, could learn and take heart in the practical wisdom that would help them live according to Mosaic law.
 For us Christians, this book still has much practical wisdom.  These few verses are of great value, if we heed them.  We might question any human authority and their right to tell us of our personal responsibility for our actions, but can we question or challenge God's wisdom and God's right to teach us the way to right living?
 God gave us free will; we can serve him and keep his commandments or we can refuse to keep his law.  He cannot force us to be loyal and loving to him.  He also gave us the gift of intelligence; we know that he expects obedience and loyal service from us.  But, ours is not only a religion of laws and rules; ours is a religion of love.  Jesus' ministry on earth was all about love, compassion, and forgiveness.  He taught that not only do we avoid sin because it goes against his Father's law, we avoid sin because it is an insult to our loving Father in heaven.
 The temptation to make wrong choices abounds in today's world.  Do I really want to give up some activity to come to church on Sunday?  Must I really act nicely toward that co-worker who can be so annoying? Do I really have time to visit that elderly relative or friend? Do I have the discipline to stop texting while driving or while having dinner?  The choices are ours...and sometimes it could be the difference between life and death!

SECOND READING: I CORINTHIANS 2:6-10
 Saint Paul brings us an exciting, wonderfule message today.  Our eternal reward from God will be so great that we cannot even imagine it.  We already know that living a life that is pleasing to God and keeping his commandments will help us to be content and at peace (blessed).  What a wonderful message!  God muct love us so much to promise such a great reward.  Paul impresses on his converts that he has true wisdom to give to those capable of receiving it, but it is a very different wisdom.  It is the wisdom of God revealed only to those who are willing to learn and prosper by it.  A wise person, according to St. Paul, is one who is spiritually mature; one who had learned to get in touch with God's wisdom.  The only widsom that has any value, the apostle argue, is not of this world but comes from God.
 The mental outlook of our society today seems to be little changed from that of the Corinthian converts of St. Paul's day.  Many people today, like the pagans of old, think that true happiness and a permanent home can only be found here and now on this earth.  Therefore, such individuals, tend to oppress and take advantage of the weak and the vulnerable, in order to get as much as they can and to be able to enjoy themselves to the fullest during the few years they are allotted on this earth.  Paul teaches that our true happiness, which will be everlasting, will begin only when we arrive in heaven.  Our time on earth is a journey to heaven. Paul's reference to a beautiful meditation, "It is written eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor the heart of man conceived what God has prepared for those who love him (v.9)," underscores his assertion that human wisdom cannot of itself achieve that which our Father in heaven has in store for all faithful lovers of Jesus Christ.  So, don't be "bowled over," or "snowed," or impressed by the human wisdom that permeates the airwaves these days.  If it's not rooted in love, it is nothing but noise ("If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal (I Cor. 13:1)."  Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us and to help us discern what directions to tale in all avenues of life.  Teach us the Wisdom of God, O Lord.

GOSPEL: MATTHEW 5:17-37
 Sometimes a passage from scripture touches on so many different topics that the key message in the passage is different for each person who reads it.  Today's message from Matthew is one such passage.  Its topics range from anger to integrity.    However, the core message is clear.  Jesus is giving his dicsiples a lesson on how to follow God's commandments.
 He says that it is not only the things we do that matter, but more importantly, how we feel and think about them.  In other words what is our attitude in observing the commandments?  We must continue to grow into the fullness of the main law, which is the law of Love of God and of one another.  He is calling his disciples to a higher ideal.  Christ's opening statement emphasized that the attitude of his followers towards the commandments must be superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees.  The disciples behavior must surely differ, since the Pharisees and scribes place all emphasis on the strict and external observances of the law.
 The law states, "You shall not kill;" but Jesus goes further and tells us that we should not get angry.  If left unchecked, anger leads to more abusive actions.  In the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," Jesus warns that one must guard against lust.  Jesus healed people on the Sabbath and his enemies accused him of ignoring the Jewish law.  Jesus says there is no excuse for not assisting someone in need, no matter what the day or the hour. 
 What Christ is emphasizing is that we must be disciplined disciples.  We must respect one another and be a loving people of integrity.  We must follow the spirit of the law, which is rooted in love.  "Love on another as I have loved you," is what Jesus seems to be reminding us in his passage.  We all know where his sacrificial love led him- to that ultimate sacrifice on the cross.  He was selfless to the bitter end.  He asks no less from us.  But what a reward awaits us - eternal happiness without end.

-Sunday, February 13, 2011