if your sense of right and wrong is not keener than that of the Lawyers and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
You have heard, that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who murders will have to face trial. But now,
I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister is liable,
to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or sister “Fool!” is liable, of being thrown into the fire of hell. So,
if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there,
in front of the altar; go at once, and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God. Don’t forget this:
be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge,
who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There, you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.
You have heard that it was said: Do not commit adultery. But I tell you this: anyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent,
has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away!
It is much better for you to lose a part of your body, than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to lose a part of your body, than to have your whole body thrown into hell.
It was also said: Anyone who divorces his wife, must give her a written notice of divorce. But what I tell you is this: if a man divorces his wife,
except in the case of unlawful union, he causes her to commit adultery. And the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
You have also heard that people were told in the past: Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept. But I tell you this:
do not take oaths. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God’s throne; nor by the earth, because it is his foot stool; nor by Jerusalem,
because it is the city of the great king. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything else you say comes from the evil one.
LECTIO DIVINA:
Read: The wise man Sirach tells us that being created with free will, we are free to make our choice. But how do we do it?
In order to make the right choice, the same wise man tells us in his book that we must do it with Wisdom.
Meanwhile, St. Paul says in the second reading that true wisdom is not just about learning the Torah, it is Christ Himself.
And in the gospel, Jesus asserts that he has come not to reject the Law but to fulfill it. He is the realization of the Law and its ultimate teacher.
He is Wisdom Himself.
Reflect: We are living in a world with many and even conflicting ideologies and philosophies.
We need to have a firm foundation on which we anchor our lives. Our readings teach us how to live as children of God. In his life,
Jesus has shown us to live wisely and he has given us the Spirit and the grace to live our lives. Through the Spirit,
we are empowered to make right choices and to live them out concretely.
As we are confronted with the realities of the modern world, we are reminded to make our choices in Jesus and with Jesus.
Pray: Let us pray that we will be wise people standing up for Jesus and the values of the Gospel.
May God give us the grace not to remain passive if others are already suffering and not to be silent when the truth of the Gospel is neglected.
Act: Let us always make our choices for Jesus, in Jesus, with Jesus.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020
