Let's Go For the Gold

VI Sunday Ordinary Time Matthew 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."

These past few days have been great for watching the Olympics. Even if you aren’t a sports fan you have to be in awe of these athletes: their precision, dedication, sacrifice and beauty. I watch them from the couch and I am in awe. I think to myself, “I could never do that! That is just impossible!” But it is possible, they are doing it. Listening to the words of the Gospel for this morning I get the same feeling. It sounds so good, it is beautiful and wonderful, but it is impossible. Jesus is calling us to never get angry, to never have any bad thoughts and to always tell the whole and complete truth. It just isn’t possible. It is easy to say, “I’ve never killed anyone.” If the commandment “Thou shall not kill” means only the intentional termination of another’s life. It is probably pretty easy to say, “I have never done that.” If Adultery is a married person who has intercourse with another married person again it might be easy to say, “I am good there.” Think of Bill Clinton. If an oath is a solemn promise invoking God’s name again it might be easy to say, “Yup I am good there! I’ve never broken one of them.” If we look at the law of God at it’s very minimum, that is, what is the least that I have to do it might be easy to become smug and complacent. To think that we are doing everything that it is that we are supposed to be doing. But what Jesus is telling us in today’s gospel is that we should never be happy with doing the minimum. No! to be a following of Jesus is a call to the maximum. To give completely to not hold back and to give more. To never get angry, to never look at another person with impure thoughts, to never fudge on a promise or be content telling a half-truth… well that is impossible. And I think that is Jesus’ point today. He is calling us to the impossible. Two weeks ago, our gospel was the beatitudes, and the beatitudes were not directed at the crowds, but rather at the disciples. Those who had chosen to follow Jesus, you and I. Last week the gospel told us his disciples that we are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth a city set on a hill. Today Jesus continues to teach us his disciples the true cost of being his followers. If we are going to be the light of the world it isn’t enough to not sin or do nothing bad. No, to be the light of the world we need to do good, we need to be a positive force in the world. We need to want to change the world for the better. What Jesus wants of us is impossible. It is not possible to never get angry, it isn’t possible to never have any bad thoughts, and it is so easy to tell just a little lie, a little white line. It is easy to put on a good face, it is easy to just look at the externals, but what Jesus is asking of us isn’t to be concerned with what we can see. To be his follower doesn’t mean looking good. Jesus is concerned with the insides, the part that no one can see. Jesus isn’t concerned with the externals he is concerned with the disposition of the heart. There is only one way to do what it is that Jesus is calling us to in the Gospel today. To rely on him and his grace. It is impossible to not get angry, to not have bad thoughts, to never tell a lie. So, if we are going to be followers of Jesus what we are called to do is to rely on him. To ask for his grace, strength and blessings. It is not easy what Jesus is asking us to do, and it shouldn’t be. It isn’t easy to skate 1000 meters in just over a minute, a quadruple axel is almost never done, and to score 6 goals in a single hockey game is a major accomplishment. But it has all been done in Cortona Italy this past week. So many men and women are doing incredible feats because they practice, sacrifices and discipline. We are called to no less because we are called to so much more! We are called to be disciples of Jesus which is so much more than just Gold, silver or the Bronze.