Scripture Reflections for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year A, Lectionary 76
We are called to follow God's commandments. Beginning with what is outlined in the Old Testament, we are not to dimiss the core message of these "laws." They all point to loving God and loving neighbor. They all point to Jesus, whom we are to follow.
Hate feeling lost on Sundays at church? Searching for a better explanation of the Bible than what you hear from your pastor's sermon? Check out the following collection of audio, video, and text commentaries from various Christian experts for a better understanding of today's scripture that deal with: Abolish • Adultery • Anger • Charity • Choice • Commandment • Commandments • Context • Decision • Depth • Discern • Encourage • Extreme • Freedom • Fulfill • Heaven • History • Holy • Holy Spirit • Journey • Judgment • Lust • Oath • Obey • Peace • Pharisee • Reconciliation • Reflection • Relationship • Righteous • Salvation • Secret • Sermon on the Mount • Sin • Teach • Torah • Truth • Vocation • Wisdom •
“Notice here Paul doesn't say they crucified 'Jesus of Nazareth' or even they crucified 'the Christ.' He says they crucified 'the Lord of Glory.'”
“The commandments are not fulfilled by external compliance alone, they are fulfilled by a heart shaped by covenant love”
“Here Jesus wants to perfect that law of righteousness and bring the disciples up to the top of the mountain where he's going to give them the the new law of the gospel that's not gonna break the old law but it's gonna transform it it's gonna transfigure it it's gonna transcend it and bring them up to the kingdom a level of the Kingdom of Heaven”
“what he was trying to express was the...natural experience of feeling attraction for the opposite sex and I had to be clear with him that's not what Jesus is condemning here. It's not a question of what you experience, of the passion itself, it's then what you do with that desire.”
“that is why speech is given to us, in order to speak truth”
“Instead of sitting in judgment against other people, let us harness that energy to work on ourselves in humility and let us pray that the grace of God may be sufficient for us until we come to our heavenly inheritance through Christ our Lord”
“The laws get us halfway there but our hearts have to change in order to be filled with faith, hope and love”
“If we allow every situation of our life to shut us down, people of God, we can't love, we can't see, we can't move”
“Whenever I think about times when I've hurt others I can see that there is always a series of choices that got made leading up to that big hurt and unfortunately those things were almost impossible to notice while they were happening. The good news is that wisdom is knowledge born of experience.”
“Jesus calls us unflinchingly to embark on an open-ended journey towards holiness with him as our guide. Do not follow the law mindlessly and meticulously, he proclaims, follow me.”
“Because in the end, God will not ask how carefully you kept the religious rules. He will ask who you became because you followed him.”
“Scholars generally understand the Roman city of Corinth to be one that was obsessed with power, honor, and glory. And to them, Paul suggested a different way: trusting in the wisdom of the Spirit.”
“everything Jesus did, everything was to remove burden and shame. Jesus did not diminish sin, he acknowledged it and forgave it and so banished burden and shame.”
“Our readings today challenge us to consider both how we make decisions and how we live them out as believers who seek to walk in God's wisdom”
“God's law can be trusted. Jesus invites us to go deeper. And the Spirit leads us through discernment that we can understand God's wisdom. These are lessons for our spiritual journey and none of them are simple but all of them are important as we cultivate a life of prayer and a response to God.”
“Laws in themselves can't transform people and that's what I think was part of Jesus' whole life...he wanted people transformed”
“He's not asking for a legalistic reading. Instead he wants us to do what ethicists often call 'interpreting the spirit of the law or the commandment.' And he's clear that it is the religious authorities who are not the final arbiters and often incorrect in their interpretations.”