First Reading: SIR 15:15-20
If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him. Immense is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power, and all-seeing. The eyes of God are on those who fear him; he understands man's every deed. No one does he command to act unjustly, to none does he give license to sin.
Responsorial Psalm: PS 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
Second Reading: 1 COR 2:6-10
Brothers and sisters:
We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather, we speak God's wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for, if they had known 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, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
Gospel: MT 5:17-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not 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 greatest 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; and 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 anything 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 to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over 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 that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not 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."
Reflection
By Bernard M Borja
I remember how our childhood teachers taught us to follow simple rules and instructions. Just
like classroom rules which may include:
● Listen to the teacher.
● Put your hand up if you want to speak / answer.
● Respect each other.
● Respect other people's property.
● Use kind words.
● Be polite.
● Keep the classroom tidy.
● Line up quietly and smartly.
● Always work hard.
● Smile!
As we grow, we realize that these simple rules are not just applicable to classrooms but also in life.
But as we go on, oftentimes, we also follow these in our own terms, giving our own definition of it.
When we were young, we listen to whatever the teacher tells us. As we grow up, we only listen to
whatever we want to hear from the teacher. Remember the time when you want to say something
and you patiently wait for the teacher to call you as you raise your hand? But now you give yourself
the liberty to say anything you want, from comments on social media to conversations with friends,
and then you raise your hand as a sign of rejection if someone disagrees. And then we demand for
respect - for our own opinions and views, but others’ perspective does not matter. We even get a
hand into their private life thinking it’s also our property. “What a kind world we could have if others
would only see our own perspective” - a very dangerous mindset. We carefully keep our self-image
nice and decent but our behavior oftentimes oppose our outside looks. We were able to bring the
cleanliness from our classroom to our house but not in the streets and public vehicles. Maybe we
have forgotten that outside our house is our bigger home. People line up while waiting in the train
stations only to bump and push everyone in front once the train arrives (and some people will say it’s
the smartest thing to do). Then some people will only work only up to their desired condition - which
could mean “Tinatamad na ako. Bukas na lang ulit. 3pm na. I deserve a rest.”
Even that simple rule to “Smile!” does not really mean smile for others. Our smiles sometimes say, at
the back of our mind, “Weh?!”
Based on these observations, maybe we have given these simple rules a negative definition.
Something that we can follow because it’s more convenient to us. Jesus is telling us to follow God’s
commandments and also teaches us to do it righteously. As we dig deeper into The Commandments
through The Gospel, we may say Jesus wants us to apply our “Greater Sense” rather than “Common
Sense”. If you’re angry with someone and you want the person to be harmed but you did not really
do anything to him, common sense would say you still followed The 7th Commandment. But you still
kept your thoughts of him being harmed and anger grows in your heart. The greater sense would
say, you must get rid of this anger and make peace with that someone you were angry at. If we find
ourselves near a person we really don’t like (maybe someone who’s the reason of our past anger),
we can choose to be truthful and talk to the person politely, or we can choose to turn our backs and
tell others negative things about the person.
The Commandments were given to us for our own good and we need to follow each with all our
heart, mind, soul, and strength. But oftentimes, whenever we say “Yes”, do we really mean “Yes” or
“Yes with reservations”? When we give a smile to others does it still have reservations like a fake
smile? Maybe we should start looking at everything as “hot” or “cold”, “black” or “white”, not as
neither. Working hard means “We work hard even if it’s hard to work”. Being kind is actually for
everyone, not just for someone we like. So is respect which should be given to all. Cleanliness does
not reflect only from within ourselves (how decent we look outside) but also from around us.
And as The Teacher is telling us, just like He came to fulfill, He continues to fulfill The Law through
us.
P.S. I came across this post from my friend which hit me and made me reflect more:
“So it seems that the rule is to do only the tasks that you were told to do, do not volunteer, and do
not ever, ever initiate to change how things are being done. #changeisnotcoming”
Prayer
Dear Jesus, help us to see the good in everyone. That we may forgive and make peace with those
who have ill thoughts for us. Help us understand each other as we do our best to be kind and live
according to the laws that makes us better. Thank You for using us to fulfill in each other how the
love of God should be. And for the coming Hearts’ Day, may we remember to share Your Love
through our embrace to each member of our family, and to all those in most need of it. Amen.
