Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time A.  February 13, 2011.  Our Lady of Grace 5:15, 7:30, 11:30. Sirach 15:15-20.  1 Corinthians 2:6-10.  Matthew 5:17-37.

It was the day before Valentines Day and a young man was looking over the selection of Valentine Cards at the local gift store.  He told the clerk, “I’m looking for the perfect Valentine that expresses my deepest feelings.”   The clerk handed him a beautiful card lettered in gold and trimmed in lace with a large velvet heart on it.  She opened the card and read him the message.  It said, “To my one true live, the light of my life, the song that fills my heart with joy, the very image of beauty and grace.  I love you more than words could ever say.”  The young man’s voice quivered with excitement.  He said, “That’s perfect.  That’s exactly the special kind of heart-felt message that I am looking for.  I’ll take five of those cards.”

To truly love someone involves the total gift of self. It is easy to say that we love many people. Our love can be so watered down by running around loving everyone that in the end we really love no one person very deeply, even ourselves. We can even play at loving God among the many people to be loved in our lives.  Great Olympic swimmers don’t stay at the shallow end of the pool.  Playing at the shallow end may be a good description of a beginning athlete or an immature person in love.  The dictionary defines shallow in this way: “being lacking in depth of knowledge, thought, or feeling.”  Interestingly enough the example my dictionary gave was “Her boyfriends were all shallow creeps.” We can have deep feelings and still be very shallow in our understanding of deep love, self-sacrifice and commitment.   Shallowness my flow from judging our lives only by deep feelings and nothing else, resulting in great disappointment and loneliness in life. Love is much more than a Valentine card, a bouquet of flowers or a box of candy.  Love is total self gift.  This is the message Jesus proclaims on the Cross. Love is shallow until we give ourselves away totally and completely. Until we find the person we will live for and die for we are still swimming at the shallow end of the pool.

In today’s gospel Jesus reminds us that even if we live the Ten Commandments perfectly we may still be living a very shallow life.  The Ten Commandments are important.  They are a way of easing ourselves into the living water of the Christian life.  The Ten Commandments are for beginners.  They are the shallow end of the pool.  Jesus came to fulfill the law not to abolish it.  At the same time he taught us to go deeper into life.

Quoting the Fifth Commandment Jesus said, “You have heard it said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.”   Creating a world in which there is no murder or abortion or war is a good place to begin the challenge of following Jesus.   The self-giving love that Jesus taught demands much more.  Jesus said, “Whoever is angry with his brother or sister will be liable to judgment.  Whoever says ‘Raqa’, that is you idiot or you fool, will be liable to hell fire.”  Jesus explains that love demands much more from us than not killing.  Jesus tells us that if we love our neighbor we will leave our gift at the altar and go first to make peace with our neighbor. Jesus even turns things around by saying “go and make peace if you neighbor has anything against you.”   We are not only to forgive our neighbor; we are to ask for forgiveness from anyone we have offended.   In the mind of Jesus anger and lack of forgiveness is another form of killing.  Seeking peace and reconciliation means we must swim to the deep end of the pool of life.

Jesus then moves on to the Sixth Commandment.  “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman – or a man – with lust has already committed adultery in their heart.”   Jesus is so serious about the harm that adultery in the heart causes that he goes on to say, “If you right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell.”  Jesus knows well that evil actions begin in the heart as evil thoughts.  We have already betrayed our neighbor and sinned against love by the lustful thoughts we hold in our hearts. Swimming at the deep end of the pool demands purity of heart.

Jesus opposes the right to divorce that the Jewish law granted to men and only to men.  “Whoever divorces his wife – unless the marriage is unlawful, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever married a divorced woman commits adultery.”   Jesus takes a very strong stance on the permanence of marriage.  While Jesus was always compassionate to those he met in the difficult situations of life he also taught strongly and with authority.  Life long marriage is never easy.  There are many ways that I could soften this teaching.  In a society in which permanent marriage is in so much trouble we need to hear his teaching without diluting it. Struggling to live in a life long marriage is learning to swim at the deep end of the pool.

The teaching of Jesus on simple honesty is also very strong.  More important than the legalities of an oath or business deal is the spirit of honesty, truth and love we hold in our hearts. Doing what is right even when what is wrong is legal and more profitable puts us at the deep end of the pool.  The witness of simple honesty is very important to the stability and growth of our society.

Keeping the commandments is a noble accomplishment - yet too low a standard for the serious follower of Jesus.  In the Book of Revelation Jesus says "I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.’ (3:15) May God’s grace move us beyond the commandments to the fullness of Christian love.  For this challenge we give God thanks and praise.