REFLECTION
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and they recall that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
"You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
"It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife - unless the marriage is unlawful -causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
"Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one. Matthew 5:17-37
Reflection
In today’s readings we are looking at options – good and bad, right and wrong. With free will, we have actual options. We can choose, but those choices come with ramifications and outcomes. We have what we need to make good choices. We have the commandments. These laws are not capricious or onerous. They are appropriate and eternal. Don’t kill. Don’t cheat. Don’t steal. They come down to treating each other respectfully and showing that we love God by loving his creation. It’s really simple at its basis: love God and love one another.
We can and should choose to do that. Unfortunately, not everyone does. We can choose to do the right thing. We can choose to treat others decently and respectfully, but unfortunately not everyone does. Even some who call themselves Christians do not prove that by loving God’s creation and following the commandments. Jesus says in the gospel that we can choose to be good. We can choose to do right. We can choose to respect others and their property. But if we choose not to, even though we may gain some benefit here on earth, we will not gain a place in heaven. We know what we should do. We know how we should act. It’s no secret, and it’s really basic decency. This is an informed choice.
We can choose to do what’s right. We can choose to do good. And we should do it for its own sake, but if we do right, we will get a heavenly reward as well.
Julie Leonard
Religious Education Leader/Wellbeing Leader