Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” January-February 2023

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
2nd week of the Psalter

FIRST READING

From the Book of Sirach (Sir 15:16-21 (NV) [Gr. 15:15-20])
If you choose, you can keep the commandments; they will preserve you. If you trust in him, you too shall live. He has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before everyone are life and death, good and evil; whichever one chooses will be given. For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty and powerful, and he sees all things. His eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows every deed of man. He has commanded no one to be wicked, nor has he given anyone permission to sin. - The word of God.

Commentary on the First Reading

“Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains”; thus begins a famous book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the fathers of the French Revolution. This striking statement is also correct, but the rest of the text makes claims that we cannot accept, because it proposes human liberation without God’s action. Freedom is the defining characteristic of human beings, their greatness: plants and animals are not free, because they follow the instincts of nature without reasoning about them, without considering what is good and what is evil. In the freedom of his actions, however, a person determines his own destiny; he is the result of his own free actions. Our life today depends on the choices made yesterday; we are the sum of our decisions. The Old Testament already points out the path to true freedom: choosing the good recognized as such. Trusting obedience to the divine commandments gradually makes us ever freer and truer, whereas, if we choose to sin by turning away from the truth, we will become slaves to our passions and definitively lose our freedom.

SECOND READING

From the First Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1 Cor 2:6-10)
Brothers and sisters, among the mature we do speak of wisdom, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing. Rather, we speak of God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God destined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood it; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, God has prepared for those who love him.” But to us God has revealed this through the Spirit; for the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. - The word of God.

Commentary on the Second Reading

There is the wisdom of the world and there is wisdom according to God: they are two different things. The same applies to peace; Jesus says: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you. Not as the world gives it” (Jn 14:27). Thus, the world has its own ways of reasoning, but they do not correspond to those according to God. We must know how to distinguish things clearly, because otherwise we risk living in a worldly manner. Saint Paul says that the principle of our wisdom is the Holy Spirit, who gives us the right perspective on things. We must not flee the world, but illuminate it with true wisdom. And if everything comes from God, is it not precisely the Holy Spirit who will help us understand how things work? Divine grace is not only the principle of our holiness, but also of true intelligence. There is, therefore, a university of the Spirit, and the “graduates” are those who have studied in the book of Christ’s cross, love the Lord, humbly follow the inspirations of grace and the teachings of the Church’s Magisterium. True wisdom, there is no getting around it, is that of the humble.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 5:17-37)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come 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 great 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; 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 there 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 with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge 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 your vows.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all. Do not swear 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.” - The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

God’s new law is love. All the ancient commandments remain intact and must be observed, but not passively, automatically, or neutrally; otherwise, we risk the phenomenon we call Phariseeism. Everything must be done with love and for love, because God looks at the heart, intentions, and inner purity. Jesus teaches us, through concrete examples, what it means to love God and our neighbor in this new way. In all the examples in today’s Gospel passage, purity conquers the great enemy: malice. Before outward actions come inner thoughts and the intentions of the heart. Purity means seeing and seeking what is good, communion, and justice. Let us therefore make a healthy examination of conscience: from what inner source do our actions arise? Do we desire the good of others? Are we willing to renounce ourselves in order to have relationships of peace and goodness with our neighbor? All Christianity draws its power from this inner goodness. There is a legal, cold, impersonal justice, that “of the scribes and Pharisees,” and a divine, luminous, loving, embracing justice: the one proposed by Jesus. To live it, the Church teaches us to invoke the Holy Spirit continually.