10th Week of Ordinary Time - Saturday 2015
Reflections on 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 / Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 / Matthew 5:33-37
by Frank Savadera, SJ
Last
May 31, we witnessed some of our Jesuit brothers making an oath to a life of
poverty, chastity and obedience in the Society of Jesus. Given this context, the message of the Gospel
can be quite confusing. The initial
commandment ... DO NOT TAKE A FALSE OATH was revised/ updated by Jesus saying DO
NOT SWEAR AT ALL. Jesus reinforces the commandment by saying DO NOT SWEAR AT ALL ... NOT BY HEAVEN nor by the EARTH; NOT
by JERUSALEM; and NOT by your HEAD.
Oaths
and vows reflect our pledges of COMMITMENT.
Commitments remain important. WE
ARE ASKED TO EXAMINE THE QUALITY and DEPTH of our COMMITMENTS. The Gospel exhorts us: Let your ‘Yes’ mean
‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Why
do we commit to things? What is the
DEPTH/ QUALITY of saying our YESes or NOs??? What small commitments do we make? Do we think of them seriously? Are these SMALL COMMITMENTS FOR
REAL??? What is the DEPTH and
AUTHENTICITY of such commitments?
I
think this is why St. Paul’s exhortation in the first reading is
important: BE RECONCILED TO GOD! "To reconcile" means to coexist in harmony; or
to make or show to be compatible. Be
reconciled to God! BE GOD’s NEW
CREATION. Whoever is in Christ is a new
creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. TAKE ON THE PERSPECTIVE of CHRIST: His
way of committing. His way of loving. His way of expressing mercy and
forgiveness. His way of promising and committing Himself to us. BE RECONCILED to GOD! Take on His unique perspective! There is such a thing as an AUTHENTIC
COMMITMENT. Vowing to a life of
POVERTY, CHASTITY and OBEDIENCE or simply committing to the DAILY GRIND ... our
regular activities of the day ... are very possible COMMITMENTS. JESUS shows us what that means. WE HAVE THE CAPACITIES TO COMMIT OUR LIVES
TO something important … to JESUS ... precisely because Jesus FIRSTLY SHOWED US
WHAT THAT COMMITMENT MEANS. But then, we
will have to experience that … don’t we … that EVEN WHEN MOST PEOPLE CAN’T …
there is someone … JESUS … who is professing His commitment to us. We have to experience such … so we may know
that commitment is possible. There is a
God who is truly truly expressing his commitment to you and me. Be reconciled with such a REALITY.
But
…. no matter how hard we pray that we be
reconciled to God in our commitments … remember also that WE FAIL ... WE
FALTER. The Lord is kind and
merciful. That our COMMITMENTS can
simply SERVE our SELFISH MOTIVES. As
our Psalm today tells us: God pardons
all our iniquities, he heals all our
ills. He redeems our life from
destruction, he crowns us with kindness
and compassion. INDEED, the Lord is kind and merciful. Even as we FAIL and FALTER ... we are asked
to have a sense of GOD’S COMMITMENT TO US THROUGH HIS MOST PROFOUND MERCY.
Today
… we examine the DEPT and QUALITY of our COMMITMENTS. Do we say YES when we mean YES or NO when we
mean NO.
Take
on the PERSPECTIVE OF CHRIST. Be
reconciled with Jesus’ brand of commitment.
Commitment is possible because Jesus firstly commits to us.
Lastly,
even if we fail and falter … we also remember:
The Lord pardons all my iniquities,
he
heals all my ills. He redeems my life
from destruction, he crowns me with kindness and compassion … because HE IS
INDEED KIND and MERCIFUL.
