Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time - 6th Sunday, Year A-- The Fence

There was a large group of people. On one side of the group stood a man, Jesus. On the other side of the group stood Satan. Separating them, running through the group, was a fence.

The scene was set, both Jesus and Satan began calling to the people in the group and, one by one - each having made up his or her own mind - each went to either Jesus or Satan.

This kept going on. Soon enough, Jesus had gathered around him a group of people from the larger crowd, as did Satan.

But one man joined neither group. He climbed the fence that was there and sat on it. Then Jesus and his people left and disappeared. So too did Satan and his people. And the man on the fence sat alone.

As this man sat, Satan came back, looking for something which he appeared to have lost. The man said, "Have you lost something?" Satan looked straight at him and replied, "No; there you are. Come with me."

"But,” said the man, "I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor him."

"That's okay," said Satan. "I own the fence."

Jesus builds a shield around the law or Commandments in order to create more space and distance so that we won’t even bump up against the fence or sit on the fence, but rather keep a healthy distance.

British philosopher Gordon Graham wrote, “Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision is a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it.” --- Anonymous source.

And, our First Reading from Sirach 15:15, says “If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you.” It is our choice to keep a healthy distance. When in doubt ... don’t.

1. for example, the commandment that thou shall not commit adultery. The boundary is actually set to avoid “heart adultery” fueled by lust. Jesus says take drastic measures to avoid crossing this boundary through the metaphor of tearing out one’s eye and cutting off a hand.

The right eye represents the side of ourselves that is consciously developed, where we know that we consent to see persons that we are not treating as real human beings that they but rather we project onto them our desires.

The left side of ourselves, of which we are not very aware, is the deeper life of our soul. At times we must sacrifice what is psychologically developed if it takes over and excludes our totality. Tearing out our right eye is to realize that evil is a privation, the absence of a good that ought to be present.

Cut off power to your computer. Join a 12 Step group. It’s better than your whole body being tossed into hell fire. Consider that Saint Padre Pio said that “The Devil is like a rabid dog tied by a chain. Beyond the length of the chain he cannot catch hold of anyone. And you, therefore, keep your distance. If you get too close you will be caught.

2. Murder is obviously wrong, but the protective shield is to not even nurture resentments-- “Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” Matthew 5:22

We are talking about just the intention here, not even the act of murder. Crossing the fence already has happened if we insult people like ‘Raqa” which means idiot, or teasing a younger sibling, for example.

When we are wronged, we must not let anger and its hunger for vengeance to overwhelm us and transgress the command of love. St. Thomas Aquinas recommends the virtues of clemency and meekness, which come under the heading of temperance, which deals with the governance of excessive desires. Clemency moderates our wanting excessive punishment. Meekness reduces the interior passion of excessive anger, thereby providing an interior peace for discernment. These two virtues help prevent just anger toward evil from being sinful anger that leads to greater wounds. Yet this does not mean that we overlook our neighbor’s responsibility to confess, do penance, and accept the consequence for wrongs committed. A forgiveness that ignores the obligation of a wrong doer to convert erases a transgressor’s responsibility, and overlooks justice, in fact, abandons the divine respect for human freedom. A forgiveness that does not also call for conversion only harms the wrong doer for reinforcing sinful behavior and trivializing evil.

And just because someone else crosses the fence, you don’t have to.

e.g.--“I’m sorry you feel that way, but you’re still responsible for taking out the garbage.”

--“Talking to me that way isn’t going to get you out of doing your homework.”

---“Maybe you do hate living here, but you still have to be home on time.”

What to do about it, if you are the offending child? “...leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother or parent, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:24