Reading I: Sirach 15:15-20
Reading II: 1 Corinthians 2:6-10
GOSPEL: MT 5:17-37
“Free will” is a tremendous responsibility!
As Christians, we believe that God has given us free will. Each and every one of us has the ability to choose between good and evil… right and wrong. The fact is that, even though God created us (and everything else in the universe) we’re not puppets and God isn’t the puppeteer.
We really are able to make our own choices in life but, unfortunately, the choices we have to make are rarely clear. In fact, the most important choices we have to make are usually the ones that are the least clear to us.
Yes, God has given us free will, but God hasn’t given us permission to sin – and we shouldn’t expect to sin without consequences. That’s why we also know that we need to listen to God when making our choices.
We must embrace the deeper wisdom of God!
Luckily, St. Paul showed us that we don’t have to figure it out on our own because there is a deeper, hidden wisdom that God provides to those who love Him. God reveals this wisdom to us through the Spirit. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is Knowledge, and with this gift, we can better understand the meaning of God’s Revelation, especially as it’s expressed through the life and words of Jesus.
Wisdom and knowledge help us understand God’s plan for the world and they help us discern our part in executing that plan. We don’t need to be wise in the ways of human beings – we need to embrace the wisdom of God that’s been given to us through the Spirit. Embracing God’s wisdom, living that wisdom, and sharing that wisdom, is how we can demonstrate our love for God. And as the Bible says, we can’t even imagine what God has prepared for those who love him!
We must live to the spirit of God’s law!
In the Gospel reading this weekend, Jesus told his disciples that their righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, which probably seemed ridiculously difficult. The scribes and the Pharisees were known for living to the letter of the law.
But that was Jesus’ point. According to him, it’s not enough to just avoid the physical acts – we also need to avoid the harmful thoughts and attitudes, like anger and lust, that lead to those physical acts. What’s in your heart and on your mind will eventually manifest in what you say and do, so Jesus said we need to stop it at the source.
Of course, this makes our “free will” an even greater responsibility. But if we can open our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit, we can learn to embrace the deeper wisdom that God offers and better understand what Jesus was saying. We’ll understand, in our hearts, that Jesus is challenging us to do more than live according to the letter of God’s law.
As true disciples of Christ, we will understand that we must live our lives according to the spirit of God’s law!
Life Applications:
How do you exercise your “free will” correctly?
What does it mean to “open your heart and mind” to the Holy Spirit?
How can you focus on “the spirit of God’s law”?
Check out the REAL Word Podcast for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A):
Original article by Brandon Jubar, 2023.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.