This Sunday’s readings place before us something both beautiful and uncomfortable: the dignity of our freedom.

Sirach says it plainly: “If you choose, you can keep the commandments.” God sets before us fire and water, life and death. In other words, our lives are not accidents; they are decisions. We are not puppets on divine strings. God respects us too much for that.

In the Gospel, Jesus raises the bar. “You have heard… but I say to you.” It is not enough to avoid murder; we must uproot anger. Not enough to avoid infidelity; we must purify the heart. Not enough to swear great oaths; our simple “yes” and “no” should be trustworthy. Jesus moves us from external compliance to interior transformation.

If we are honest, this is where we feel the weight of it. It is easier to say, “I didn’t break the rule.” It is harder to ask, “What is happening inside my heart?” I can refrain from shouting at someone and still rehearse the argument in my head all evening! Apparently, heaven also has access to our internal monologue.

But this is not about scrupulosity; it is about holiness. St. Paul reminds us that God’s wisdom is not superficial. It is deep, hidden, revealed through the Spirit. Christianity is not behavior modification. It is participation in the very life of God. The Spirit searches “even the depths of God” and He also searches the depths of us, not to condemn, but to heal.

Jesus fulfills the law not by relaxing it, but by completing it in love. The commandment against murder becomes a call to reconciliation. The prohibition of infidelity becomes a call to integrity. The law about oaths becomes a call to transparent truthfulness. The heart is the real altar where obedience is offered.

God has placed before us fire and water. Each day we choose patience or resentment, fidelity or compromise, truth or exaggeration. The good news is this: grace always accompanies the choice. God never commands without empowering.

So today, let us choose life, not just outwardly, but inwardly, and allow Christ to make our hearts as faithful as our words.

Your Priest,

Father Charles Enyinnia