Scripture Reflection for Ninth Sunday (A), June 1,2008

Scripture for the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, A Cycle. Deuteronomy
11:18,26-28. Psalm 31:2-4.17.25. Romans 3:21-25.28. Matthew 7:21-27:

Our Gospel is the conclusion of the greatest sermon ever given, that
of the Sermon on the Mount. We know that Matthew intends this Sermon of
Jesus for both the Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians. We see
many of the themes of the Hebrew Scriptures within Matthew who is
considered to be one of the most Jewish of the four Gospels. It probably
was written in Syria around the year 85 A.D. Some think that Matthew was a
rabbi.
There are five such sermons in the Gospel of Matthew which serve as a
way of seeing its outline and divisions for study, prayer, and reflection.
We are concluding the first; at the end of each sermon we have words that
tell us this is the conclusion: "Now when Jesus had finished saying these
things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as
having authority..." (Matthew 7:28-29; see Matthew 11:1; 13:53; 19:1;
26:1). This is reminiscent of what Moses also does in concluding his
instructions on Mount Sinai.
These Sayings of Jesus probably happened on many an occasion and are
now edited and compressed into Matthew's narrative. They are so neatly
presented that the Catholic Church used Matthew for Sunday readings for
over one thousand years.We are listening to Jesus who is resembling and
renewing the presence of Moses. He now gives an interpretation of what
Deuteronomy is telling us in the first reading. The Torah will not be
diminished in his presentation; rather for the new audience it is a
profound and intensive interpretation of the laws, precepts and
commandments handed down by Moses. Both in Judaism and in Christianity the
covenant on Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount respectively are not merely
an ethical teaching. They are a way of life that leads sensing and feeling
the Presence of God in the ones who observe them. This is the call to the
righteous (dikaiosyne) to live them out to the fullest. Perhaps,
understanding the Shem'a "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God,k the Lord
alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your might. Keep this words that I am commanding
you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them
when you are home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you
rise." (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).
Jesus confirms that he has come not to destroy the Law (Torah means
Instruction, Revelation) but to fulfill it. He is giving all of humankind a
spiritual legacy that is not an impossible task, nor an ideal ethical
charter. His is a way of life in the Spirit that can help bring about the
Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. We would all have to live this out, of
course, if there is to be God's justice and peace that are essential to the
Kingdom of God.
All of us are called to such a spiritual legacy spelled out for us in
the Commandments given on Sinai and the golden rule given within this
sermon by Jesus. We should not be afraid of the call of Jesus when he tells
every man and woman, "You are to be perfect, therefore, even as your
Heavenly Father is perfect." Our personal reflection on this statement can
lead us to understand it when we read it in the context of both Deuteronomy
and Matthew. Amen.