Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
/Dominica VI per Annum A
Homily & ACA Commitment Weekend
16 February 2020
We are well aware, or at least we should be, that being a disciple of Jesus involves some fundamental requirements. It involves obedience to God and worship of Him alone. It involves holding and submitting to specific teachings revealed by God in the Old Covenant and maintained and deepened in the New Covenant of Christ. It involves acceptance of, and active membership in, the one Church that Jesus established as our Mother and our guide, believing that the Church, in her official teaching capacity, speaks to us with the very voice of the Good Shepherd. And at its very core, being a disciple of Jesus involves our response to the call to be holy, it involves our moral life. The moral life cannot be excluded from our belonging to Jesus. I think the Gospel passage today demonstrates this clearly.
Jesus teaches us this in his words: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” ‘Righteousness’ refers to being morally upright, virtuous, or, we might say, holy. It is what makes us like unto God the all-holy One and it is what makes it possible for us to be in His presence. Righteousness or holiness comes through faith in Christ as noted in the Letter to the Romans (1:17; 9:30-32) and not through works of the law (Rom. 3:28; Gal. 2:16). Our holiness is not purely our own work, since we do not and cannot save ourselves; however, if we have been justified as righteous and made holy through faith in Christ, then that reality ought to be seen and visible in the good works we do (cf. Mt. 5:16). Catholic teaching makes clear that faith and works go together (cf. James 2:14-26).
Since the scribes and Pharisees were often in conflict with Jesus they tend to get a bad wrap and we might make the mistake of dismissing them. But they were serious followers of God and their desire and religious dedication would frankly put us to shame. That we might not be shocked to hear “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees” tells us how mistaken we are. That’s a tall and shocking order.
The moral life in Christ means that we each must strive for more than external fulfillment of the moral law. While choosing what is good and rejecting what is evil we must still go deeper, into the core of our life with God – to the heart! You see, even to desire sin is already to have formed the intention to live at a distance from God. It is tantamount to already committing sin in the heart. Thus, when examining your own sinfulness before regular confession stop saying, “Well, I haven’t killed anybody.” That is merely justifying yourself. And you and I can’t justify ourselves. Jesus says, have you been angry with someone? You are already liable to judgment. Stop excusing yourself with, “I would never actually cheat on my spouse.” Jesus says, have you looked at another with lust, objectifying the person for your imaginary pleasure? You have already committed adultery in the heart.
Following the words of Jesus on the moral life, the Church has a developed appreciation of Christian anthropology, that is understanding of human existence. We don’t merely look to the external but we know that deep within us is the source of our motivations and desires. Those things exit, they go out of us from within, and are visible in our choices. Our external and observable choices need to be morally right. When they are not, they need to be confessed to be healed by God’s abundant love for us. But the seat of our righteousness, our holiness, is deeper and we need to foster moral uprightness there too. Jesus commands us to go to the heart. Entrance into the kingdom of heaven is at stake. We are called to holiness. By God’s justification of us through faith, by His ongoing justification of us through the sacramental life, and together with our efforts – this is the recipe to surpass the righteousness of old and to enter the fullness of the New Covenant Kingdom in heaven.
This weekend across the parishes of the Archdiocese is the commitment weekend for the Annual Catholic Appeal. We will now turn our attention to that Appeal by first hearing words from Archbishop Coakley, followed by the pledge process in the pews.