11th Week: June 14-19:
June 14 Monday: Mt 5:38-42:
The context: During their captivity in Egypt, the Jews became familiar with the crude tribal law of retaliation called Lex Talionis (=Tit-for-Tat) given by the ancient lawmaker Hammurabi during the period 2285-2242 BC. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus rejects even the concession of milder retaliation allowed by Moses. In its place, Jesus gives a new law of love and grace — and no retaliation.
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Moses
instructed the Israelites to follow tit-for-tat retaliation, rather than to
wreak total destruction upon their enemies. That is, instead of mutilating or
murdering all the members of the offender’s family or tribe, they should
discover, then punish by an equal mutilation or harm, only the offender. Later,
a milder version of this law was substituted. It demanded monetary
compensation, as decided by a judge, in place of physical punishment. Moses
also gave the Israelites several laws commanding merciful treatment for the
enemy if he also was a Jew (e.g., Lv 19:18).
The true Christian reaction: For Jesus,
retaliation, or even limited vengeance, has no place in the Christian life.
Jesus illustrates the Christian approach by giving three examples:
1.
Turn to him the other cheek: Striking
someone on the right cheek (with the right hand), requires striking with the
back of one’s hand, and, according to Jewish concepts, the blow inflicts more
insult than pain. Jesus instructs his followers to forgive the insult
gracefully and convert the offender. 2) “Let him have your cloak as
well.” Jesus instructs his followers that they should show more
responsibility and a greater sense of duty than to fight over possessions.
3) Go with him two miles. A Christian has the duty of
responding, even to seemingly unjust demands by helping or serving gracefully
not grudgingly. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
June 15 Tuesday: Mt 5:43-48:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage is perhaps the
central and the most famous section of the Sermon on the Mount. It gives
us the Christian ethic of personal relationship: love one’s neighbors and
forgive one’s enemies. Above all, it tells us that what makes Christians
different is the grace with which they interact with others, treating them with
loving kindness and mercy, especially when those others seemingly don’t deserve
it. The Old Law never said to hate enemies, but that was the way some Jews
understood it. Jesus commands that we are to love our enemies and pray
for those who persecute us in order to demonstrate that we are
children of a merciful Heavenly Father. From the cross, Jesus prayed for Mercy
to God His Father for all of those who were responsible for the Crucifixion –
which includes all fallen humankind, and so ourselves — saying, ‘Father
forgive them; they know not what they do.’” (Lk 23:34). A Christian
has no personal enemies. If we only love our friends, we are no different
from pagans or atheists.
We need to love our neighbors and our enemies, too: The Greek
word used for loving enemies is not storge (affection or
natural love towards family members), or philia = friendship (love
of close friends), or eros (=romance) (passionate love between a
young man and woman), but agápe =unconditional love which
is the invincible benevolence, or good will, for another’s highest good. Since agápe, or
unconditional love, is not natural, practicing it is possible only with God’s
help. Agápe love is a choice more than a feeling. We choose to
love them because Jesus loved them enough to die for them, and they, too, are
the children of our God. We have in the Acts of the Apostles the example
of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who, like Jesus on the cross,
prayed for those who were putting him to death.
Life Messages: We are to try to be perfect, to
be like God: 1) We become perfect when we fulfill God’s purpose in
creating us: with His help, to become God-like. 2) We become perfect when,
with His ongoing help, we try to love as God loves, to forgive as God forgives
and to show unconditional good will and universal benevolence as God does. Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/21
June 16 Wednesday: Mt 6:1-6, 16-18:
The context: In today’s passage from the Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus takes three cardinal works of religious life in Judaism,
namely, almsgiving, fasting, and prayer, and instructs the apostles, the crowd
of disciples, and us on the principles underlying these acts of personal piety.
Life Messages: 1) Almsgiving becomes a noble and
meritorious religious act when we give to bring glory to God. a) We are to
help the poor as an expression of our sharing love, in thanksgiving for the
blessings we have received from God. b) But Almsgiving becomes an act of
self-glorification when we do it as the Pharisees did, to demonstrate our
generosity in public and to get popular acclaim.
2) Fasting becomes a noble act pleasing to God when we do
it: a) to experience what the real hunger of the poor is, b) to help the poor
better by giving the price of what we do not eat to feed them, c) to discipline
ourselves in eating and drinking and d) to appreciate better God’s blessings of
good health, good appetite and generous provisions. e) Fasting for show, as the
Pharisees did, is wrong and sinful.
3) Prayer: Prayer is opening our connection to God by
talking to Him and listening to Him, convinced of His all-pervading holy presence
within us and all around us. a) By prayer we acknowledge our total dependence
on God, draw from Him our daily spiritual strength and recharge our spiritual
batteries from God’s infinite power. b) Long, noisy, repetitious prayer
performed in public for show as the Pharisees did is no prayer at all. It is
hypocrisy. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/21
June 17 Thursday: Mt 6: 7-15: 7
The context: In today’s passage from the Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus instructs the crowd that they should not pray like the
Gentiles, repeating empty phrases. He means that true prayer is not so much a
matter of the number of words as of the frequency and the love with which the
Christian turns towards God, raising his or her mind to God. So, Jesus
teaches them a model prayer. Jesus’ prayer, “Our Father,” consists of two
parts. In the first part, we praise and worship God, addressing Him as our
loving, caring, and providing Heavenly Father and promising Him that we will do
His holy will in our lives, thus remaining in His kingdom. In the second part,
we present our petitions before the Triune God. First, we ask God for our
present needs, food clothing and shelter, (“give us this day our daily
bread”), then for our past needs, especially for forgiveness of our
sins (“forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us”), and finally, for our future needs,
protection against the tempter and his temptations (“and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil”). In this part, we also bring the
Trinitarian God into our lives. We bring in: 1) God the Father, the Provider,
by asking for daily bread; 2) God the Son, our Savior, by asking forgiveness
for our sins; and 3) God the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, Who is our Guide,
Advocate, Comforter and Illuminator, by asking for protection and deliverance
from evil. Special stress on the spirit of forgiveness: We are told to ask for
forgiveness from others for our offenses against them, and to offer
unconditional forgiveness to others for their offenses against us as a
condition for receiving God’s forgiveness. Jesus further clarifies, “If you
forgive others their wrongs, your Father in Heaven will also forgive yours. If
you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either” (Mt 6:14-15).
“For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, now and
forever. Amen.” The manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew do not contain this
phrase, nor do any of the Catholic translations. Martin Luther added this
doxology to Our Father in his translation of Matthew’s Gospel, and the King
James editions of the Bible keep it. The doxology is actually
taken from the Divine Liturgy or Catholic Mass. Known as the final
doxology, it takes up the first three petitions to our Father. By the final
“Amen,” which means, “So be it”, we ratify what is contained in the prayer that
God has taught us. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
June 18 Friday: Mt 6:19-23: 19
The context: Today’s Gospel passage from the Sermon
on the Mount instructs us to amass secure and lasting treasures in Heaven by a
life of righteousness on earth, doing the will of God and sharing our blessings
with the needy. Jesus uses two metaphors, one explaining the folly of keeping
perishable treasures on earth and the other of loving the darkness caused by
pride and prejudice.
The image of earthly & heavenly treasures: Man’s
heart yearns for a treasure which will give him security and lasting happiness.
But treasure in the form of riches very often gives him constant worry because
riches can be lost, destroyed or stolen, or his life may be terminated
abruptly. The only treasure which will last beyond this life is
treasure stored in Heaven. Obtaining and keeping such a treasure is possible
only by lovingly and sacrificially sharing God’s blessings with others and
leading an upright life doing the will of God with His grace.
The image of sound eye and clear vision: Jesus
compares the human eye to a lamp which provides the body with light. St. Thomas
Aquinas in his commentary on Mathew gives the following explanation: “The eye
refers to motive. When a person wants to do something, he first forms an
intention: thus, if your intention is sound – simple and clear—that is to say,
if it is directed towards God, your whole body (that is, all your actions),
will be sound, sincerely directed towards good.” Bad eyesight is also a Biblical
metaphor for stupidity and spiritual blindness. Such blindness is caused by
pride, prejudice, jealousy, hatred, etc., which would destroy our fair
judgment.
Life message: 1) Let us spend our lives here on earth
doing good for others without being blinded by pride and prejudice. In this
way, we will store up everlasting treasures in Heaven. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
June 19 Saturday: Mt 6. 24-34:
The context: Today’s passage from the Sermon on
the Mount instructs us to serve God alone as our Master. We are to avoid
worries and anxiety by placing our trusting Faith in the providence and care of
a loving God and by living one day at a time in God’s presence.
Impossibility of serving two opposing masters: Man’s
ultimate goal and Master is God and not material possessions. We cannot serve
both at the same time. Material possessions, when we share them with others,
become a means to reach our ultimate goal.
Jesus’ arguments against unnecessary worries: 1) Worry is a
pagan or an irreligious attitude of those who don’t believe in a loving and
providing God. 2) In nature, other creatures (like birds), work hard for their
daily food, but they don’t worry about tomorrow’s food. 3) Worry is useless
because we cannot increase even an inch of height by days of worrying. 4) Worry
is injurious to one’s health because it causes physical and mental problems and
illnesses.
Life Messages: How to avoid worry: 1) Trust in the providence of a loving God. 2) Acquire the art of living one day at a time without worrying over the dead past, the living present or the unknown future. 3) Seek God’s kingdom by doing His will every day and live a righteous life obeying God’s law. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
