6th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (Year A)
Scripture: Sirach 15:15-20; Ps. 119; 1 Cor. 2:6-10; Mt. 5:17-37
Every society believes that there should be a set of rules to safeguard the rights of people and maintain order. We can imagine if we do not have laws then our lives would be chaotic and there would be no way to settle our fights and disputes. Therefore, it is important to understand the relevance of laws in one’s life. Every member has to abide by it because it helps for peaceful cohabitation.
The ancient human civilisation is closely linked to various legal systems. A brief survey of ancient civilisation tells us that once humans settled down, they formed a legal system. It began with Egypt’s civilisation in 3000 BC. A summerian ruler Ur-Nammu formed the first legal code in the 21st century BC. King Hammurabi developed a Babylonian law in 1260 BC. The Jews also formed a legal system around the same time. They attribute it to Moses. The Romans were influenced by Greek philosophy but they were meticulous and highly sophisticated in codifying the laws in the 2nd and 3rd century. The church incorporated Roman legal principles into the church administration. It is called Canon Law. The Latin maxims later became the foundation of common law in England in the medieval ages. This common law has influenced one third of the legal systems of the world.
It is so important for man to have a legal system to have peaceful cohabitation. The Jews found that they need to have laws to have a peaceful relationship with God. Unlike other communities, the Jews always related with God at the personal level. It was Moses who gave them the law. His covenant with God on Mt. Sinai made a lasting impression on their relationship with God. Moses received the law of God (Ten commandments) as a sign of covenant. This theme is dominant in the Old Testament. It (the word ‘law’) appears more than 420 times in the Bible.
All the books of the Old testament tell us that the Jewish life was centred on the law. The Jews required to do specific things and refrain from doing others in order to observe the law. During the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had identified 613 commandments in the Torah (the first five books of Moses). There were two hundred forty-eight commandments positive (thou salt) and three hundred sixty-five commandments were negative (thou shalt not). Its observance was essential to the identity as a Jew. It was meant for their salvation.
We have two examples from the Old Testament in today’s liturgy. The author of Sirach gives advice to his readers who were living in a Hellenistic culture that the commandments of God (the law) will save them. But there is freedom because God does not impose his rule over us. There is a choice to obey Gods’ commandment. We should be responsible for the same. The Psalmist exhorts those who observe the laws of God to be blessed. Ps. 119 is one of the longest psalms in the psalter. It praises the Torah. It appears to show that the law is the epiphany of God to human beings. There are more than eight references in today’s verses to the law such as precepts, statutes, words, etc. The one who follows them, he or she shall live. The authors of the Old Testament invite us to follow the law of God because it will give them salvation.
It was well accepted by the Jewish community till Jesus arrived in the scene. The Jewish religious authority found Jesus violating the laws. He healed on the Sabbath (Mt. 12:11-13). He touched the leper (Mt. 8:2-3). Talking to a woman from Samaria (Jn. 4). His other acts such as eating with tax collectors and sinners, allowing his disciples to eat with washing their hands, forgiving people’s sins, challenging the religious authorities, etc. had put him in conflict with the religious authority. He was seen as a rebellion. While today’s Gospel text (the first half) tells us that Jesus adheres to the law. He says that he is not coming to abolish it but to fulfil it. He further says that anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. It shows that Jesus was not against the law but its application. He invites his disciples to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees to enter into the kingdom of heaven. He gives six antitheses to explain it his disciples. We have taken four of them namely; murder, adultery, divorce and false swearing in today’s Gospel.
In each of these examples, Jesus invited them to go beyond the letter of the law. In the case of murder, the root cause of murder is anger. Jesus tells us even if we keep anger against a man then we are liable for judgement; call him raqa (brainless) – answerable to Sanhedrin; call him “you fool” – liable to fiery Gehenna. These acts were not mentioned in the law. He was inviting them to go deeper so that they may not commit offense against God and his people. He was asking to show the right disposition of their heart which the law never touches. If we understand this, then other examples will be understood immediately. Jesus did not change the laws or renewed the laws but he gave new meaning to them.
St. Paul understood it very well. His life before encountering Christ was centered on the letter of the law. But after the encounter with Christ, he centered on the spirit of the law. Therefore, he could guide his faithful in the ways of Christ. As a wise man, filled with divine wisdom, he proclaimed the Christ.
Let us pray that we may not keep merely the external observances of the laws in the church but truly love another as Jesus loved us.
~Fr. Alex D’Mello
