Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]

February 16, 2020

Matthew 5:17-37

Jesus is accused of unfaithful to the Law of Moses and the traditions of the elders. He no longer requires His disciples to performs ceremonial washings and many traditions of the elders [Mat 15:2]. Jesus heals people even during the Sabbath [Mark 3:1-6]. Jesus declares that all food is clean [Mark 7:19]. The worst part is when Jesus commands His disciples to drink His blood [see Lev 17:14; Mat 26:27-28]. Is Jesus breaking and changing the Law of Moses?

Today, Jesus makes a bold statement against His accusers, “Do not think that I come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.” The real and tough question is how Jesus completes the Law? Jesus’ answer is simple: by returning to original plans of God, or simply put, by going back to the essential. However, to go back to the essential, Jesus has to unload centuries-old unnecessary addition to the fundamental Law. Jesus has to remove tons of unessential.

Yet, the basic logic is: before we set aside the unessential, we need to know first what the essential is. For Jesus, what is essential and the original plan of God? Simply put, God wants us to share His divine life and happiness. To share this life, men and women have to give their hearts totally to God. And, Jesus understands that to give our hearts for the Lord, we need to purify our hearts. “… because from the heart comes to all evil things…[Mar 7:21]” and “Blessed are the pure in heart because they will see God [Mat 5:8].” No wonder, in today’s Gospel, to fulfill the Law, we need to purify our hearts from all negative emotions and thoughts. We must cleanse our hearts from prolonged anger, hatred, and vengeance because these things will breed violence and worse evil. We shall clean our hearts from lust because it simply leads to sexual immorality. Even Jesus hates divorce because it is the product of the hardness of our hearts.

One time, when I was still a brother, I listened to the sharing of some people who have become the victims of a child abused. Here I meet Rio [not his real name]. He told me that he was sexually abused by his father when he was around ten years. The incidents left him deeply traumatized, he grew up with some problems, and the situations brought him into despair. He event attempted to commit suicide, but fortunately, his friends came to his rescue. However, years later, when he heard that his father got a stroke, and it left him paralyzed, he decided to go home and take care of his father. I asked him what made him return and forgive his father? He said that it was challenging because of anger and hatred, but he realized that he had to forgive his father not because his father asks for it, but because he deserved peace of mind. Now, he returned to purify his broken heart with a sacrificial love towards his father.

Are we willing to remove non-essentials from our hearts? Are we willing to offer our hearts to the Lord? Are our hearts pure enough to be offered to the Lord?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP