The book of Sirach, one of the seven “Deuterocanonical” books, was written very late in Old Testament times. The author lived in a cosmopolitan, mostly pagan, community that did not support his religious values. Hence, his book was intended for Diaspora, Jews who were exposed to the pervasive influence of a Hellenistic culture which believed that humans were helpless pawns in the hands of the gods.   He asserted that there should be no compromise with the prevailing culture when it came to keeping God’s law. God never forces us to do good or evil. It is our free choice to obey or disobey God’s laws, and we are responsible for the serious consequences of our choices. This is the clearest statement in all of the canonical and deuterocanonical OT writings on the subject of human free will.  This reading and the Gospel lend solemnity and authority to each other. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 119), declares, ”Blessed are they who observe His  decrees, who seek Him with all their heart” (v 2)

Paul here contrasts the wisdom of the prevailing Greek culture with the wisdom of God, advising Christians to seek true wisdom in God’s revelation instead of indulging in endless discussions of Greek philosophy. God in His wisdom has saved us through Jesus and prepared for those love Him, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart.”

Jesus explains that the fifth commandment means respecting life in all its stages by honoring others in words and deeds.  This means that we have to control our anger because it is the rawest, strongest and most destructive of human emotions. Describing three stages of anger and the punishment each deserves,  Jesus advises his disciples not to get angry in such a way that they sin. 1)  Anger in the heart (“brief stage of insanity”– Cicero), has two forms: a) a sudden, blazing flame of anger which dies suddenly. b) a surge of anger which boils inside and lingers so that the heart seeks revenge and refuses to forgive or forget. Jesus prescribes trial and sentencing by the Village Court of Elders. 2) Anger in speech: Using words which are insulting (“raka“=“fool”), or damaging to the reputation (“moros” meaning a person of loose morals). Jesus says that such an angry one should be sent to the Sanhedrin or Jewish religion’s Supreme Court for trial and sentencing. 3) Anger in action: Sudden outbursts of uncontrollable anger often result in physical assault or abuse. Jesus says that such anger deserves hellfire as its punishment. In short, Jesus teaches that long-lasting anger is bad, contemptuous speech or destroying someone’s reputation is worse and harming another physically is the worst.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus outlines a new moral code for his followers, which is different from the Mosaic moral code. Jesus insists that adultery, the violation of the sixth commandment, is also committed through willfully generated evil and impure thoughts and desires which are willingly sustained in the mind. Our hands become agents of sin according to what we touch and how we touch, in lust or greed or violence. Our eyes become agents of sins according to what they look at. When Jesus recommends mutilation of eyes and hands, he is not speaking literally, because we have more sins than we have body-parts. Besides, even if all offending parts were removed, our minds — the source of all sins – would still be intact, causing us to sin by thoughts and desires.  So,  Jesus teaches us that, just as a doctor might remove a limb or some part of the body, like an infected gall bladder, inflamed appendix, etc., in order to preserve the life of the whole body, so we must be ready to part with anything that causes us to commit grave sin or which leads to spiritual death. Hence, these warnings are actually about our attitudes, dispositions, and inclinations.  Jesus recommends that our hands become agents of compassion, healing and comfort   and that our eyes learn to see the truth, goodness and beauty around us.

According to the teachings of the Jewish rabbis, the world stands fast on truth, justice and peace; hence, liars, slanderers, scoffers and hypocrites will not enter Heaven. The rabbis classified two types of oaths as offensive to God: 1) frivolous oaths using God’s name to support a false statement, because this violates the second commandment and 2) evasive oaths using words like Heaven, Jerusalem, or my head, because God is everywhere, and He owns everything. Jesus interprets the Mosaic Law on oaths to mean that we should be righteous men and women of integrity and character.  If one is honest in one’s words and deeds, there is no need for one to support one’s statements and transactions with oaths or swearing. How forceful are honest words! (Jb 6:25). An oath is a solemn invocation of God (So help me, God!) to bear witness to the truth of what one asserts to be the case or to the sincerity of one’s undertakings in regard to future actions. It is necessary and admissible to ask God’s help in the discharge of an important social duty (e.g., President’s oath of office), or while bearing witness in a court of law (“I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth … “So, help me, God.”). Jesus teaches,  “Say yes when you mean yes and say no when you mean no” (Mt 5:37). That is, he invites us to live in truth in every instance and to conform our thinking, our words, and our deeds to the truth.