Jesus Levels up the Law!

Deacon Kevin Gingras

Feb 15, 2026

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021526.cfm

Sirach 15:15-20   Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34

1 Corinthians 2:6-10    Matthew 5:17-37

Today’s Gospel continues the Sermon on the Mount.  We heard the Beatitudes a few weeks ago.  Last week, we heard of salt and light.  This week, we hear about how Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them.  Later on in the Gospel of Matthew, we will see Jesus physically present with the Law and the Prophets in person at his Transfiguration.

Mt 17:2-3 And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.

Moses represents the Law. Elijah represents the prophets.  Even God the Father and the Holy Spirit get into the action…but let’s not jump ahead, back to the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus isn’t abolishing the law or the prophets here; instead, Jesus is leveling up the law and the prophets in this part of the Sermon on the Mount.  The first reading echoes the importance of the law as Sirach tells us: 

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.

Pro tip here: choose water! The responsorial Psalm carries on that theme: 

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.

Then the Gospel breaks through! The law tells us you shall not kill - but Jesus levels that up: 

Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment

The law tells us we shall not commit adultery - but Jesus levels that up:

But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The law tells us that we cannot bear false witness or take a false oath - but Jesus levels that up:

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;

…Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'

Anything more is from the evil one.

The laws God gave to Moses were to keep our external actions in check; this still remains true today, perhaps more than ever!  Now, Jesus wants us to take the law to a deeper level as well, to have it written on our hearts to have that interior transformation.  Without it, He tells us we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  With that said, I give you our Catholic word of the day - metanoia!  It’s a Greek word combining “meta”, meaning change, and “noi”, meaning mind.  Literally, it means a change of mind, but it’s more than that, so much more!  We aren’t talking about you looking at yourself in the mirror and changing your mind about your outfit!  Metanoia is a profound change of mind and conversion of heart.  Metanoia focuses on our sins, but it goes far beyond simple regret for sins; it signifies an enduring, radical transformation of one's entire being, perception, and direction—the turning away from sin and self-centeredness toward a life centered on God.

I’m not going to give us a laundry list of sins now. What I want you to do is take a moment to think of that one persisting sin, one you just can’t shake no matter what…Got it?  Good, that’s what you need to focus on during Lent.  Lent begins on Wednesday, so what better time to bring up metanoia than now!

Metanoia is hard!  Without confession, it’s impossible! God knows this, that’s why he gave us the sacrament of confession!   God also gave us a helper, a paraclete, the Holy Spirit, to assist us! The Holy Spirit is also needed for metanoia because true repentance is a divine gift, and not something we can do on our own. The Holy Spirit can convict our hearts, removing our stony hearts and replacing them with hearts that are more in tune with the teachings of Jesus Christ.  It’s always a work in progress. All we need to do is take that first step, ask for forgiveness in the confessional, and reach out to the Holy Spirit for help.  When we fall, and we will, we need to get back up and start over as soon as possible!

St. Bernard of Clairvaux tells us:

A saint is not someone who never sins, but one who sins less and less frequently and gets up more and more quickly.

Our citizenship is in Heaven

 

Deacon Kevin Gingras

March 16, 2025

Second Sunday of Lent

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031625.cfm

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18    Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14

Philippians 3:17—4:1    Luke 9:28b-36

St. Paul, in his first letter to those Roman folks living in northeastern Greece in the city of Philippi, says exactly what I want to get across today:

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body.

Paul is emphasizing the second and final return of Christ that we today still wait patiently and prayerfully for when we will be joined to our glorified bodies that Christ portrays in today’s Gospel:

While Jesus was praying, his face changed in appearance, and his clothing became dazzling white.

So not only will our bodies be glorified but our clothes will be quite clean to boot!  Today’s Gospel really juxtaposes Jesus's physical and spiritual nature quite nicely.  Last week, we heard of Jesus out in the desert for forty days without food.  He then was tempted by Satan.  Jesus, in his humanity, was hungry, but he won that battle with Satan. As a sidenote, yes, you can live without food for forty days. I Google it:

In extreme cases, some people have survived for over 60 days without food

Now, on to us, how do we fare during temptations from Satan or hardships that our physical nature must endure? Which one calls us harder, the physical or spiritual?  It is truly an ongoing battle with Satan!  We must win!

The Transfiguration illustrates to us what we were designed to be; we are designed for glorified bodies in Heaven.  Unfortunately, for a brief span of time, we are stuck here on earth, and we are not designed to be of this earth. Earthly bodies have negative emotions and pain, both physical and mental.  Earthly bodies require maintenance, exercise, water, food, and diet.  When it comes to trying to diet or fast, a piece of pie always draws me in! I almost always respond more to the physical. 

When it comes to pain, I respond to its physical earthly nature very quickly.  Fr. David’s homily struck me last week when he talked about banging your head.  That very Saturday morning, I was working on the bottom of my garage door, so I had it mostly up but not all the way.   Three times, I turned quickly and banged my head against the door.  On the third time, I actually told God to send the garage door to the abode of Satan!  I quickly realized the garage door did nothing to me.  I’m the one who put it at that height; I’m the one who turned quickly to get something and hit my head against it.  I laughed a bit and said a quick Hail Mary, asking for more patience and forgiveness for my sin!  

We see the physical, we feel the physical, just ask my head!  Unfortunately, humans rarely see or feel the spiritual.  I came across an article that said that the boundaries of human vision are not exact and may vary between individuals.  The visible light range is a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, making up only about 0.0035% of it.  We only see 0.0035% of what’s out there!  Imagine if we could see more of it, even 2% of it!  Abram experienced the spiritual, which is visually represented in the first reading.  Cutting up animals and walking between them was a way to ratify contracts in those days and was common.  What God did with Abram was ratify a covenant.  God was the smoking fire pot and flaming torch that passed between the animal halves ratifying his covenant with Abram.

Now imagine what we would see if we could when Heaven and Earth meet during the Eucharistic Prayer and consecration!  Imagine how strong our spiritual life would become then!  It might even beat the physical life!

Most of us have probably experienced some physical hunger on Ash Wednesday a few weeks ago. What about spiritual hunger?  That should be stronger. Imagine if you couldn't get to church to receive the Eucharist for a period of time. It was almost five years ago that we had just such an experience during the COVID lockdown. Please, God, may we never experience that again!  During that time, did you feel a spiritual hunger?  Did you hunger for Mass and the Eucharist? 

As this Lent progresses on, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a hunger for Mass, a hunger for the Eucharist, a hunger for the sacrament of Confession, and a hunger to spend time with our Lord and Savior in Adoration.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you that desire so that your soul may be nourished as we approach Holy Week.  Pray to Saint Michael, asking him to defend us in battle.  Remember that our bodies are only here on earth for a short span of time and that “our citizenship is in Heaven” and that time is eternity!

Saint Augustine reminds us to:

Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.