Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A Readings: Sir 15.16-21 / Ps 118 / 1 Cor 2.6-10 / Mt from 5.17 to 37
"But
Felici, it called upon to give high quality of life: to be the flavor of the earth, the light history. The Master Jesus, sitting on the mountain of new and definitive covenant between heaven and earth, even more pressing the throttle of the revelation about our status as children of God to tell us what can be beautiful, rewarding and what you want to become, indeed, we are. But in any Christian liturgy, every good news is prepared by words of the First Testament, with constant force that is capable of digging wells in us by surprise and availability, necessary conditions to meet the voice of the living God.
Thesis
"He (God) has placed before you fire and water where you tend your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil in everyone will be given what pleases him "(Sir 15.17 to 18). The reflection of Sirach - one of the great sages of Jewish tradition - a thesis reminds us so obvious as to be constantly on We misunderstood, or at least misunderstood. God created us by giving us a true and full liberty. Therefore it is up to us, every day, deciding what to dive and what to burn. It is not up to others to choose who or what they reach out. Of course, our freedom knows many limitations: the historical, social, physical, moral. And yet it is still real, irreducible measure of our dignity in the sight of creation. The "wisdom of the Lord" (15:19), however, there has entrusted this task in an irresponsible manner, wanted to hand over "his commandments" (15:16), necessary guidelines for us to understand that good and evil are not two opposing principles. In God's eyes only good exists, then life is a one-way street. "No one has commanded to be wicked - Ben Sira says - and nobody has given permission to sin" (15:21). God never gave us the commandments because he wanted to limit our freedom, but to show us where and how life works. We took away the joy of discovering for ourselves the mysteries and hidden treasures in the world and human life. He simply removed the absurd vertigo that absolute freedom can lead us. Head, elegant, paternal and maternal, really beautiful, our God!
Antithesis
But we - always - an original sin manifest background, (a) showing a bit more 'allergic when we are told or advised to do what is best. Inveterate presumption rests on us as dust, prompting us to reject, rather than listen to the words that come to us in the form of 'precepts' of' decrees' and 'teaching "(cf. Psalm Responsorial). A strong reaction to anything that smelled of law and taxation, for example, was experienced by our Western society in the last century. A beautiful dream animated intent: to return free again masters interpreters and the adventure of being men and women. But a colossal blunder always hiding in the attempts to evolve the story freeing yourself too radically from the past. Just that, in fact, has happened: we burned codes and traditions, rules and regulations aside, giving us the opportunity to write history from a new page, all white. Only to realize that, renouncing every discipline experienced by those who preceded us, we quickly become unable to live, illiterate in interpreting the most fundamental language of everyday life: friendship, love, relationship with things, the work, money, management and desires of our hearts. We Christians the same mistake we made against the gospel, misunderstanding what is this Sunday resounds in the voice of the Lord Jesus: "I do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets: I came not to abolish them but to give full fulfill "(Matt. 5:17). The good news of the gospel is not an announcement of abolition, but of fulfillment. The gospel proclaims the freedom of the children of God is not authorized to put in brackets that part of us that before we can act spontaneously, he needs to learn to distinguish light from darkness, water from the fire, ' love from selfishness. We too have succumbed to the illusion of freedom without rules, a substance that could regardless of form, of a tension that could do without the love of loyalty to the daily responsibilities. And the dream of Icarus plunged us into a Christian experience dull and lifeless, unconvincing.
Summary
's long and this Sunday's Gospel is in fact entered the literature (and preaching) with the Christian name of 'Matthean antitheses'. The reason is due to the persistent use of the adversative conjunction "but", which often inspires in us - Always so deeply war - feelings of opposition. "You have heard it said ... But I tell you ... "- the refrain that punctuates the whole gospel - it is easily interpreted as an abrupt reversal, a radical adjustment. But a "but" not necessarily need to contrast it is useful to examine a speech, as understood by carefully reading the instructions of the Master Jesus telling us that even anger is to kill, which take the first step is to forgive, that's enough for a look be unfaithful to the Lord did not want to teach another law. He wanted to tell us that the time has come where we can live the demands of God's Law to the end, radically. Not because we are good or better than those who preceded us, but because we have received the Holy Spirit, which heals our sin and strengthens the heart for eternity. Yes, he would raise the shot that day the Lord Jesus, by declaring all of our freedom. The same thing is still telling us - with a huge smile on her face - that we no longer have to wait for another opportunity to embrace the justice that our deepest heart's desires. We should not wait for tomorrow to enter "the kingdom of heaven" (5:20), we can do here now. Dry and calm just say the words of assent. Just say "yes, yes" (5:37).