Sunday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
he has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.
Immense is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is mighty in power, and all-seeing.
The eyes of God are on those who fear him;
he understands man’s every deed.
No one does he command to act unjustly,
to none does he give license to sin.
Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34Responsorial Psalm
R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Be good to your servant, that I may live
and keep your words.
Open my eyes, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes,
that I may exactly observe them.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
1 Cor 2:6-10Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
We speak a wisdom to those who are mature,
not a wisdom of this age,
nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away.
Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden,
which God predetermined before the ages for our glory,
and which none of the rulers of this age knew;
for, if they had known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But as it is written:
What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
Mt 5:17-37 or 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
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 brother
will be liable to judgment;
and whoever says to brother, ‘Raqa,’
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin;
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’
will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
“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.
If your 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 Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife unless the marriage is unlawful
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“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;
not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the evil one.”
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
The Loving Programmer gave free will to His beloved human programs. If we want, we can choose to obey His laws and be saved. Those who trust in Him will be saved.
He has given each person the opportunity to choose to go to Heaven or Hell. Each may choose.
Each of us can choose between life and death, good and evil. He will get whichever he chooses.
The Loving Programmer is immensely powerful and knows everything. He watches (over) those who fear Him and He understand why every person does what he does. He does not order anyone to be unjust, and He does not give permission to anyone to sin.
Blessed are they who follow The Programmer’s Operating Instructions.
Blessed are they who do nothing for which they can be blamed, and follow His Operating Instructions.
Blessed also, those who seek Him wholeheartedly.
Blessed are they who follow The Programmer’s Operating Instructions.
He wants His instructions followed closely. I hope I will be firm in obeying Him!
Blessed are they who follow The Programmer’s Operating Instructions.
Loving Programmer, please be good to be that I may live and obey You. Let me see and understand how wonderful (You and) your Operating Instructions are.
Blessed are they who follow The Programmer’s Operating Instructions.
Loving Programmer, teach me Your statues and show me how to follow them exactly. Let me have discernment to observe and obey Your Operating Instructions.
Blessed are they who follow The Programmer’s Operating Instructions.
Fellow believers, we speak of (God’s) wisdom to those smart enough to rise above the childish fads of this (or any) age. We aren’t concerned with passing fads or the soon-to-die rulers of the age who are dying off before our eyes. We speak, instead, of The Loving Programmer’s hidden (from us) program that He wrote before we human programs had ever been downloaded. Earthly rulers don’t know about it. If they had, they wouldn’t have crucified Jesus, The Living Program, when He came to earth. But, as it is written, we have not seen nor heard or considered what The Loving Programmer has programmed for those who love Him. This, He reveals to us through The Holy Wireless Connector. He examines everything, even The Programmer.
Jesus said to His disciples, "Don’t think I’m here to get rid of the law or the prophets. I am, instead, here to fulfill them.
I tell you, that until the Heaven and Earth parts of The Creation Program have run their course, not the smallest bit of the law will disappear.
Therefore, whoever breaks even the least important Operating Instruction and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven.
But, whoever obeys and follows the Operating Instructions will be called greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I (The Living Program, Son of the Father, Lamb of God) tell you, if you aren’t better than scribes and pharisees, you can’t get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
You have heard that your ancestors were told that "You shalt not kill." and taught that those who kill are going to be judged.
But, I’m telling you, if you are even angry with your brother, you run the risk of being judged (harshly).
Anyone who insults his brother will answer to earthly courts. Whoever calls someone a "fool" is liable to be sent to Hell.
So, if you bring an offering to The Loving Programmer, and remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift at (not on) the altar, and first be reconciled with your brother, and then come offer your gift.
Settle with an opponent quickly on the way to court so that you can avoid harsh judgment and a jail sentence from which you won’t escape until you’ve paid every single thing you owe. (Apply that thinking to God, His Judgment, and your own soul.)
You’re heard it said that you shall not commit adultery. But, I’m telling you that the Operating Instructions are much stricter than that. If you even look at another lustfully, you have already committed adultery in your heart.
If you look at things that cause you to sin, blind yourself. It is better to lose a part of you rather than be thrown into hell.
If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better to lose part of you than have all of you go to hell.
It was also said, that whoever divorced his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But, I am telling you
that whoever divorces his wife, unless the marriage is unlawful, causes her to commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
And, you’ve heard that your ancestors were told not to take a false oath, but to make good to The Loving Programmer what you’ve pledged.
But, I say to you, don’t swear at all; not by Heaven, earth, the holy city, nor by your head because you can’t make a single hair black or white.
Just go through life and say "Yes" or "No" and mean just that and nothing else. Anything more than that comes from the evil one."
