HOMILY 6TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR A 2026
FURTHER PRINCIPLES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN LIFE
Mt 5.17-37 Ecc 15.16-21 1Cor 2.6-10
In Dr Seuss’s ‘Horton the Elephant’, faithful Horton has agreed to sit on the egg for Mayzie the lazy bird, to give her a break, as she heads off to Palm Beach in Florida, for freedom and a good time! He carefully and faithfully, through rain, hail, snow and shine, protects the egg until it finally hatches, into an elephant bird (“From the egg that he’d sat on so long and so well, Horton the Elephant saw something whizz. It had ears and a tail, and a trunk just like his”!), his motto applying here to today’s Gospel: “I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful 100%!”
The Sermon on the Mount continues now, with more detail about ethical instructions for living as a faithful follower of Jesus, whatever one’s environment or background. On one hand, Jesus is focussed on the positive attitudes of the Beatitudes, with no direct do’s or don’ts, Matthew moves his teaching into more direct instruction, which all sounds rather difficult.
There are 613 precepts in the Jewish Torah, which Jesus refers to here, as well as the Ten Commandments, which he certainly does not dismiss, but emphasises that his teaching is to build on these, with a specific emphasis on the spirit in which the Law is to be applied in practice, in the real world. At the heart of it, though, is the fundamental law of love of God linked with general, unrestricted love of neighbour.
As I’ve said often enough already, there are 1752 canons in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, of varying importance, but with the underlying principle that the law requires interpretation, of its purpose and the circumstances where it is to be observed and applied. And some things are more important than others, with the primary considerations being the good of the people and a fair go! Pope Francis certainly took this line throughout his papacy, with empathy, compassion and care for the Earth as priorities.
As he confronts the human situation, Jesus acknowledges the difficulties of ordinary people, particularly those on the fringe, the sick, the sinners, those who have broken the law in some way or other, or failed to observe the strict requirements of laws which they probably don’t know or, if they do, don’t understand. It was the teachers of the Law and the religious authorities of the day, who took responsibility for laying down the Law, but often with little appreciation for, or interest in, the implications on the lives of those to whom they considered themselves superior.
It is Jesus who confronts their hypocrisy, inconsistencies, lack of compassion and what might be called their black letter application of the detailed prescriptions of the law, but with a resistance to interpretation, and allowance for the complexities of the human situation. It’s all very well to have ideals, as Jesus presents, but the reality is that none of us can live up to them. He might say: ‘Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect’, but none of us will ever reach that standard of perfection, however much we might try!
As the Jerome Biblical Commentary puts it: “Jesus is here opposing the hypocrisy, sophistry and academic trivialization of life and replacing them with an ideal of simplicity and directness of speech.” Then it goes into the debate in the early Church, between Matthew’s more prescriptive approach, and Paul’s emphasis on the spirit of the law, which should have priority over the detail, with many prior Jewish customs and rituals being superceded, as Christian communities developed, and grew in number and diversity of backgrounds. It took time to evolve, and the evidence points to Paul’s approach coming out on top.
Today’s Gospel does need deeper interpretation for application today, rather than just taking it literally. Jesus sets an ideal for the way in which Christian life should be lived. Human weakness and temptations are part of the deal; the question is how we deal with them, by acknowledging reality and deciding to do the right thing, to choose good and avoid evil.
It is only natural that, emerging from within, we all sometimes have feelings of anger, jealousy, sexual temptation, difficulty with forgiveness, letting go of bitterness and resentment, distraction with prayer, thoughtlessness about others, a lack of empathy. This is part and parcel of every life, and it is up to you and me to apply conscience and free will to the decisions we make and the actions we take.
The specific scenarios presented in today’s Gospel, where Matthew has Jesus taking a rather hard line, are more an ideal, than a reality in day to day life, as relationships can be complicated. Mistakes can be easily made, as for example, possibly the biggest, in marriage, where a lifetime commitment is generally well intended, but should not bind a person to dysfunction and unhappiness or misery, where it is just not working, and problems cannot be resolved. Once again, I state that no-one is bound to the impossible, and there is nothing sacred about an abusive or emotionally empty relationship. We have a right to pursue and find happiness in our own lives. The Beatitudes in themselves, which begin this passage in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, lay out a plan for finding peace of mind, fulfilment and integrity, in living the Christian life.
It could be said that Jesus deepens the requirements of the commandments by extending the prohibition to murder to limiting anger, but not unhealthy neurotic repression. Anger is natural, but it’s how we deal with it that’s the important issue. Then verbal abuse of others is not condoned, but the words ‘fool’ and ‘renegade’ don’t mean too much these days! What is more, we can all be foolish at times!!
Furthermore, wise advice is given then about sorting out our differences in a civil way, thus reconciling with each other, without having to resort to legal formalities, which might be necessary in the end, but not the first port of call! This is more a common sense exhortation.
Finally, today, Jesus gives the simple directive of speaking the truth, without the necessity of taking an oath, and so to mean what one says and carry that through in action.
So, my conclusion today is to say what we mean and to mean what we say, and follow through on the commitments we make, where possible, but sometimes it’s not! And that’s the reality, of keeping trying and persevering, without being too hard on ourselves, or each other, either.
john hannon 15th February 2026