February 13, 2011 – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sir 15:15-20 Ps 119 1 Cor 2:6-10 Mt 5:17-37

A good reputation is undoubtedly one of the most precious possessions that anyone can have. Even more important than what others think and say about us is what God thinks about us. Have you ever wondered what God would say about you if God were to assign you a reputation? Today’s psalm refrain got me thinking about that very topic.

“Blessed are those who walk in the way of the Lord!” Now that’s a good reputation and one that I hope we can all claim. Because that is our deep desire, the gospel reading today challenges us about how faithfully we walk in God’s ways. Jesus claims that “until heaven and earth pass away, not one stroke of the letter will pass from the Law until it is all accomplished.” There is no wiggle room in such a claim! Jesus goes straight to the heart of the matter when he tells us that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees. Now the Pharisees were a group of lay people in Jesus’ day who tried to keep the Mosaic Law in all its minutiae. They were careful about what they ate, about washing before eating, about how far they were permitted to travel on the Sabbath day, and so on. Jesus said we must go beyond the Pharisaic concerns and go to the heart of the matter.

He tells us about murder, “But I say to you that the one who is angry with their brother or sister will be liable to judgment; and whoever insults their brother or sister, will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” In other words, we must not merely avoid the evil of killing. Not doing something evil is merely an absence of evil. It is a null set. Rather, Jesus wants us to be filled with virtue. We must love in word and deed, not merely avoid hatred, revenge or insult. We are to be reconciled with someone who holds something against us. Instead of merely not killing, our lives are to patterned on Jesus’ love that nurtures and cares for others, love that does good, that heals and that feeds other’s needs. The path to virtue is an active life of doing good and being kind with others.

St. Paul reminds us in the letter to the Corinthians that this is wisdom, to follow Jesus, trusting His way in our lives. Our reading from the book of Sirach says it this way: “Before each person are life and death, good and evil and whichever one chooses, that shall be given.” Our lives are filled with many choices and we are free to choose. However, we need to be clear that every choice is between life and death, good and evil. Sirach goes even further to say when we choose good and life, then that is what we shall receive in our lives, too. But when we choose evil and death, we will receive the same.

As Christians who know that we are responsible for the care of the Earth, we can take these messages to heart. However we choose to use this planet’s resources, we are either choosing life and good or death and evil. The result is not only good or evil for ourselves, but the consequences of our choices today will result in life or death for future generations, too. I am reminded of the command given to the angel in the book of Revelation where the angel is commanded to “harm not the earth.” We are also given the same command. But when we apply Jesus’ teaching about murder to our care of the earth, we must realize that it is not enough to avoid death dealing. We must become proactive and live deeply virtuous lives of nurturing love for the Earth and all its species. When we are careful, weighing our actions and our purchases against their effects on the earth, then we become more and more loving of our home and all the other creatures who share Earth with us. How wonderful it will be if living eco-loving lives God establishes our reputation saying, “Blessed are you who walk in the law of the Lord!”