The opening line of today’s passage from Sirach says, “If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you.” Notice the use of conditional conjunction “if” and the verb “choose.” We have the power, if we choose to use it. However, when we avoid keeping the commandments we usually blame it on human weakness, temptation or some intervention by the devil. But ultimately we make the choice to either keep the commandments or fall into sin.
In the long version of today’s Gospel passage, Jesus expands the notion of what the commandments mean. Not only are they to be taken literally (i.e., “Thou shalt not kill”), there is also a broader context (killing is not only physical, one can also kill someone’s spirit with anger, criticism, or holding onto grudges). Sometimes however, we become Pharisaical in our parsing of the commandments (“I never committed adultery with another person”). Yet, looking at pornography on the internet can be just as damaging to a person’s spiritual life and relationships with others.
Jesus invites us to read the commandments and the Beatitudes in the broadest sense possible. A simple way of doing this is by asking ourselves this question: “Does this particular, thought, word, or action lead me closer the God or further away from God?”
Have a great week,
Msgr. John