Sunday Readings: Sirach 15.15-20, 1 Corinthians 2.6-10, Matthew 5.17-37
Jesus taught his disciples about the law, saying, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill them (Matthew 5.17).
In Sunday’s gospel Jesus urges his followers to live more than the commandments not to kill and not to commit adultery require of us. Jesus challenges his hearers to deal with angry actions that have killing effects, to practice reconciliation, to keep promises others can trust, pay our pledges, recognize desires can inspire work for justice but also sidetrack intimate relationships and entice us to value pleasure over people.
Jesus invites us to reach into our inner conscious lives where we can transform any anger and abusiveness that lives inside. He calls us to reflect on our attitudes and measure our actions by his standard of love and compassion and participate in the work of transforming our relationships.
The commandments reach back 12 centuries before Jesus. The gospels reach back 20 centuries to Jesus. Jesus doesn’t address friending and unfriending on Facebook or how texting wounds without face-to-face contact. He teaches against swearing false oaths but nothing about sorting truth from lies in a global world that feeds on sensation and 24/7 spin. We have to wrestle with wrongs and hurts we experience today and do the work of conscience for our time. In doing so, we bring Jesus; teachings into our own lives and time.
By what new rules and old commandments do your family, colleagues, neighbor, friends build communities of love, justice, and fidelity today?