Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37

When I was a freshman in high school, I had a difficult first semester.  I received a “D” in one course and an “Incomplete” in another.  I spent a good part of my Christmas vacation working on Algebra.  In the second semester, I had to quickly learn some new study habits and spend less time in the gym and more hours in study hall.

But the work paid off.  By the end of that semester, my grades were much better.  They continued to improve in the years that followed.  I regularly had all A’s and B’s and I was proud of my achievement.  Three years later, when I was a senior, I had nothing but A’s.  But my father would always tell me, “That’s good.  But you can do better.”  At the time, his response left me feeling sad and frustrated.  It was only years later that I appreciated what he was trying to do.  Dad wanted me to push myself beyond what I thought possible. 

It worked.  I later earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Law.  More importantly, I was able to apply Dad’s lesson in other areas of my life, including how I live and minister as a religious and a priest.  I can always be better.

In our gospel reading, Jesus tells the crowds listening to his Sermon on the Mount that obeying the Law of Moses is important.  But it is not sufficient for those who want to be his disciples.  Avoiding murder, adultery, divorce and false oaths are good…as far as they go. The problem, Jesus points out, is that simply avoiding sin is not sufficient.  He wants us to be saints! 

He reminds us that in order to grow as disciples, we often need to get to the heart of the matter and address issues of our character:  anger, hatred, lust, infidelity, dishonesty and a lack of integrity.  In fact, we spend a good part of the church year—the seasons of Advent and Lent—giving special attention to this life-long task.  We need the wisdom and the grace of God to help us. 

In our first reading, the author of Sirach links our freedom to choose good with our trust in God.  If we have a good relationship with the Lord, we will develop the wisdom that we need to make the right choices.  St. Paul reminds us in our second reading that “the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.”