Post-feast of Pentecost; The Holy Martyr Aquilina (286-305); Holy Triphillius, Bishop of Leucosia (Nicosia) on Cyprus (343)
No fasting or abstention from foods
Read
Romans 1:28-2:9; Matthew 5:27-32
On Tuesday, we started readings passages from the Sermon on the Mount, and we’ll work our way through this famous series of teachings by Jesus for another week. Many theologians agree that the Sermon on the Mount is intended as a manifesto or blueprint for what a Christian community or church should look like. In yesterday’s gospel, for example, Jesus warned his listeners to avoid anger, as something tantamount to murder: those who avoid anger will keep themselves, and the church, safe from dispute, insult, and arguments, which can kill a community’s unity and zeal to build God’s kingdom.
Similarly, Jesus calls us today to avoid lusting after others. Like anger, lust can ruin both individual lives and relationships and whole churches. When I was a kid, I remember how my pastor explained adultery as a ‘killing’ of a marriage. I didn’t know what he meant at the time, but today I do: you only need to hear one story of marital infidelity to know the horrible pain it causes to marriages, which often fall apart as a result. When this happens, it’s not just the husband and wife who suffer: children, grandchildren, friends, family, and fellow Christians are all affected, and often start to question whether marriage has any value. But marriage and sexuality are a great gift: Proverbs 5, for example, talks about the joys of faithfulness to one’s spouse. Whether we are married, single, divorced, widowed, or celibate, let’s recommit today to chastity, for our own sakes, for our families, and for the whole church.
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