Homily: Friday - 10th Week of OT 2016 - Surpassing holiness

Since Monday we’ve been reading from Jesus’ most famous sermon, his sermon on the mount.  In this sermon, Jesus teaches his followers how to live so that the life of God would take root in their hearts and grow in their lives. 

Jesus’ teaching transcended the letter of the law of Moses. Christians are to strive for authentic holiness which surpasses the mere external conformity.  Don’t just avoid adultery, avoid anything which might lead you to adultery, avoid lustful gazes, perverted fantasies, avoid the situations in which adulterous temptations might be more than you can handle, seek a purity of heart in which people are not seen as objects for your own sexual gratification. 

Jesus does not want us merely to avoid the physical act of adultery; he want us to eliminate the root of the sinful actions and to love another with our whole hearts.

Deep conversion—conversion of the heart is necessary for all of us. In this same section of the sermon on the mount, Jesus gives six illustrations of not merely avoiding the sin, but the root of the sin, the thoughts, attitudes, behaviors which lead to the sin. Don’t just avoid murder, but the sort of anger that leads to murder. Don’t just avoid breaking major oaths, but even white lies, ‘let your yes mean yes and your no mean no”, avoid stretching the truth to make you look better than you really are.

Don’t just avoid divorce, but the sort of behavior which slowly undermines marriage—the impatience, the cutting remarks, the resentments, the selfish indulgences, the poor communication, the failure to reach out for help when things get rocky.

Though Jesus only gives us six illustrations, we are to use this rubric for every sin: don’t just avoid the sin, but the near occasion of the sin.  Seek to be perfect he says, as our heavenly father is perfect. 

Mere outward observance of the law does not produce love, and the Lord wants to heal our hearts, from the inside-out, to make our hearts, thrones where not selfishness, but true love reigns.  Obeying the moral law is a necessary minimum, but in order to live as members of God’s kingdom, we need to do more.  True disciples need to cultivate the inner dispositions that transform the heart and build up love.  May the Holy Spirit help us to deeply examine our inner motivations, attitudes, and desires, that we may put our whole hearts under the dominion of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.