Blessed Are They Who Walk in the Law of the Lord

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.

We live in a country where we prize our freedom, cling to our right to choose,  and even define our homeland as “the land of the free.” Today’s scriptures  remind us that along with rights come responsibilities. We are to respond to our  God who made us and calls us to be a people of the new covenant, ratified by the  saving death of God’s Son on the cross.  

“If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you,” says Ben  Sira (Sirach 15:15). For the Jewish people the law was a blessing and those who  chose to keep the law would be blessed with life. That choice is still before us  today. 

Jesus’ teachings reveal his wisdom in understanding the law of the Mosaic  covenant. His grasp of what was at the heart of the law can be clearly found in the  long form of today’s Gospel. While there is an option for a shorter version, spend  some time with the longer reading (Matthew 5:17–37).  

We are to live as kin in what has been called the “kin-dom” of God. In a world  that justifies preventative strikes, Jesus forbids not only killing but even getting  angry and bearing a grudge. He teaches that reconciliation takes priority over  worship, that the prohibition against adultery extends even to looking with lust  at another, reducing a person to an object for self-gratification. Finally, he asks us not to swear but to speak with simplicity and integrity.  

Some might dismiss all this as impossible to achieve. But, as a young virgin was once told: “[N]othing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37).  

Consider/Discuss

  • How does the “law of the Lord” influence my life?  
  • Do I consider God’s law as increasing or limiting my freedom?
  • Can I accept the “bottom line” that Jesus is asking of his disciples? 

Responding to the Word

We can pray for the Holy Spirit to open our minds to understand what is at  the heart of Jesus’ teachings, and that we both discern what God asks of us and  respond wholeheartedly. Thus we witness to others what it means to walk in the  law of the Lord.

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