Gospel Lectio Divina for The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - February 12, 2023
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
MT 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37
Jesus said to his disciples: "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.
"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.
"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. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one."
MEDITATE
"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus mentions righteousness yet again. A few weeks ago we read “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” He mentions the kingdom of heaven again as well. Concerning the kingdom of heaven in the Beatitudes, he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” So here we can begin to see the correlation between each Beatitude, how they are intertwined at certain key points. If Jesus is saying the poor in spirit will inherit the kingdom of heaven, and then he says “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven,” then that must mean those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are the poor in spirit.
While poverty is evil, the poor are blessed because they can set their eyes on things more important than worldly goods and wealth. They can set their eyes on righteousness. In a similar way, Jesus says to the crowd after speaking to the rich man, “How difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” All of these teachings are related. It is the poverty in spirit that makes us hunger and thirst for righteousness, and that hunger and thirst make us righteous because as we seek to be filled with righteousness we become righteous ourselves. God is righteousness. He is always right. To desire him and nothing else is to acquire him and everything else. “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you.” God does not love poverty, but he does love the poor in spirit who desire righteousness, because such people are open to being filled with him.
In this way, Jesus is also teaching us that wanting is at least as good as having. The more we pursue righteousness, the more we will receive. The more we pursue it, also, the humbler we will become as we see how much more we can always receive. This is why humility is the root of all virtues, because the moment we think we have enough virtue is the moment we stop pursuing it. Then pride sets in and replaces the virtue, the righteousness.
I use the two words interchangeably, but virtue and righteousness are slightly different. Virtue is a habit and righteousness is the desire to exercise the habit. The righteous man acts virtuously, and the virtuous man acts virtuously because he desires righteousness. So by calling the disciples to increase their righteousness, Jesus is teaching them to re-orient their desires. He is not telling them requirements for entering some exclusive club. He is ultimately telling them what will make them most happy, because the kingdom of heaven is where they were made to be.
“Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. . . . everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Jesus judges the heart, which is where actions originate. This is also why he tells the disciples to desire righteousness; avoiding sin begins with avoiding the desire to sin. Desire righteousness instead, and that desire will replace our desire for sin. The Lord sees and knows when we have a guilty conscience and when we have a clean conscience. He will only fill us with his sweet gift of righteousness when he sees that our consciences are clean.
“Do not swear at all. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'”
As the Truth Incarnate, it makes sense that Jesus wants us to speak only the truth with our words. Our words have power, and Jesus wants us to know that. More often than not, when a person curses these days it is an empty word anyway. The curse adds no value to their statement. It’s like a crutch word, like “basically” or “you know” or “literally”. More often than not, when we use these words or phrases they add no meaning to what we are saying. All curses do, usually, is add an angry emphasis on what we are saying, which alludes to Christ’s earlier point to not be angry in the first place.
“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’” is a refreshing teaching in our culture that is filled with ambiguous speech. Often we have to infer that someone’s ‘Maybe’ actually means ‘No’, and that their ‘Yes’ actually means ‘Maybe’. Sometimes our ‘No’ actually means “Maybe’ or, ‘Yes, just not at this time’ or ‘Yes, just not in the way you’re asking’. We play these mind tricks on people because we want them to better understand us and ask the right questions. For instance, whenever we see an ad on the internet, even if it is something we generally want, we will still ignore it or exit out of it. We’re saying ‘No’, but we actually mean “Maybe’.
This problem has seeped into morality, unfortunately. I will just use myself as an example. When I lack conviction, I often say “Yes” to things just to try them out, but then grievously only find out how much I don’t like what I tried only after it is too late. I was on the fence and paid the price. Or, I often say “No” to something in my heart because I know it’s wrong, but “Yes” when someone else is doing it because it’s none of my business. This approach to some of the most serious moral matters in my life often leads to grey areas I’d rather avoid. I know I’ve experienced times when I was stuck in the middle for lack of conviction. When someone offers me something I know is wrong, I say “No thanks”. It seems like a polite response, but in reality the “thanks” implies a superfluous sentiment. I am implying that I am thankful that someone tempted me. Is Jesus saying that I should have just said “No”. Most likely, the one offering the temptation would regard such a response as stringent and perhaps even judgmental. But perhaps this is what Jesus is teaching me to do. If I am saying “No” to something, there is a good reason. Therefore, “No” is enough. I don’t have to be thankful for something I’m saying ‘No’ to if it is a bad thing.
So, what wisdom can Jesus’ teaching offer here? Don’t be lukewarm. Don’t be on the fence about things. What do I really desire? When I desire righteousness, all of my other wants and needs fall into place. When I have my heart, mind, and soul set on the kingdom of heaven, all of my other goals in life, whether large or small, become clear. Thus, while Jesus’ teachings often seem strict and stoic, he is really offering us a philosophy of life that will bring more clarity to our lives.
PRAY
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are teaching us to filter out the evil in our lives so we can more clearly see you, so we can see what is really on our hearts, so we could see our most honest and pure desires. I don’t see your lessons as harsh. I see them as revealing. Please give me the courage to live by them. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
LISTEN
Whenever I read Scripture, no matter how many times I’ve read the passage before, I always find new truths. It’s because I read it during different phases of life, different times of day, different moods, or different spiritual states. It’s always revealing if I take the time to listen to what God is saying to me in that moment. This time, in this passage, I saw that God was teaching me to seek righteousness. I was frustrated with my lack of direction in life. My many desires were sporadic and disconnected. Nothing connected them all together. Christ taught me today to remember righteousness, and to look at my own heart. By seeking righteousness and seeing where my own heart is, I saw that my desires were not oriented toward God, the kingdom of heaven, or righteousness. As a result, my whole direction in life was in disarray. Jesus instructs us to cut away all the chaff and get to the heart of what we really want. Even though we only get glimpses of heaven on this side of it, the more we focus our gaze on it and pursue it the clearer it will become.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com.